Tomas: Tripartite Partners Support Pan-EU Solutions to US Tariffs (2)

Bratislava, April 10 (TASR) - The Tripartite Council [representatives of the government, employers and employees] supports EU-wide solutions to US tariffs and believes that the European Union should also support sector-specific assistance, Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) stated on Thursday after a special emergency meeting of the Economic and Social Council (HSR) on the US decision to introduce blanket tariffs. According to Tomas, Slovakia is proposing tools such as Kurzarbeit (short-time work schemes) and a so-called 'scrappage' bonus as part of its response. "The tripartite prefers solutions at the level of the European Union. We fully support further negotiations between the EU and USA, and also fully support the European Commissioner of Slovak origin, Maros Sevcovic," explained Tomas. Another point of consensus within the Tripartite Council, according to Tomas, is that the EU should provide sectoral aid. “Furthermore, the EU should diversify its trade. Thirdly, deregulation should be used to strengthen the EU's internal market, to support the economies of member states,” he emphasized. “We also discussed support at the national level. Here, I must mention the potential use of the Kurzarbeit scheme. The 'scrappage' bonus is also on the table,” added Tomas. “We all unanimously agreed that we support a unified European approach. Independent national-level solutions are not viable. At the same time, we support exploring new opportunities and markets for the affected segment or products impacted by the tariffs,” said President of the Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ) Monika Uhlerova. In her view, the EU will also need to reconsider potentially scaling back some of its ambitious environmental goals. According to President of the Association of Industrial Unions and Transport (APZD) Alexej Beljajev, if 20,000 cars are lost from exports to the U.S., this would mean a drop in exports and a shortfall in the state budget amounting to €1.1 billion. “If we look at it comprehensively, including employee taxes and other associated revenues, the expected impact is around €100 million. If these tariffs were to persist long-term, it could threaten between 9,000 to 15,000 jobs in Slovakia’s automotive industry,” Beljajev specified. Looking ahead, President of the Federation of Employers' Associations (AZZZ) Rastislav Machunka emphasized that Europe must boost its competitiveness. “Europe has long been lagging behind other markets that will inevitably cooperate more closely — whether it’s the Asian market or South America, which could open up to us if the Mercosur deal is finalized,” added Machunka. Machunka believes that Slovakia is in an even worse position than the rest of Europe. “We face fundamental problems, such as energy prices that are three to four times higher than in the U.S. We have a high regulatory burden. We are also hampered by legislation related to high environmental costs. On top of that, Slovakia bears an even higher tax and social contribution burden compared to other EU countries,” concluded the AZZZ president. mf