EU offers to remove all industrial tariffs on U.S.

And countries around the world are moving quickly to talk Trump out of the upcoming reciprocal tariffs that are about to be effective in the coming day.

Lee Seung-jae has this report.

After the announcement of sweeping reciprocal tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump last week, countries are looking to negotiate a deal before April 9th, when the tariffs go into effect.

The European Union,.. in the hopes of striking a deal with the U.S.,.. said Monday that it has offered "zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods."

The announcement was made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who stressed that such deals were done successfully with other countries in the past.

The U.S. and the EU were close to removing tariffs on all industrial goods a decade ago during the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks, but this was ultimately scrapped by Trump in his first term.

In response to Trump's automobile tariffs, the UK government said Monday, it would relax electric vehicle sales targets, in order to help its domestic auto industry.

The ban on selling new gas and diesel cars will still come into effect in 2030,.. but automakers will now have more flexibility on annual targets.

Currently,.. 28 percent of new cars sold in the UK in 2025 must be electric, as the target will rise annually until 2030.

However, automakers will be given more freedom on how they meet their annual targets.

This means that if they don't sell enough EVs in one year,.. they can make it up by selling more next year.

Also, a penalty of 15-thousand pounds or 19-thousand U.S. dollars per vehicle sold that does not meet the latest emissions standards will be cut to just over 15-thousand U.S. dollars.

Meanwhile,.. U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held phone talks on Monday, where the Japanese leader voiced his disappointment over the tariffs.

Ishiba told Trump that Japan has been the biggest investor in the U.S for five straight years, and that his tariff policies could hurt Japanese companies and their investments.

During the 25-minute call, the two leaders also agreed on constructive dialogue on the matter, with Ishiba sending a team to negotiate with the U.S.

Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.