Tech entrepreneur and special adviser to the president, Elon Musk, said Saturday that he wants zero tariffs between the United States and Europe, days after the Trump administration implemented broad duties on countries around the world.
Speaking to Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini during an on-camera event, Musk also said he wants more freedom of movement between North America and Europe.
“At the end of the day, I hope it’s agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk said.
Regarding movement between the two regions, Musk added that “if people wish to work in Europe or wish to work in North America, they should be allowed to do so, in my view,” adding that it “has certainly been my advice to the president.”
As part of what the administration called “Liberation Day,” on April 2, President Donald Trump announced a universal baseline tariff of 10 percent and higher rates for major U.S. trading partners that are currently in trade surpluses with the United States. Countries in the European Union, which the Trump administration calculated have been charging the United States 39 percent in tariffs and other trade costs on its goods, were hit with a 20 percent generic tariff under the plan.
Over the weekend, Musk criticized White House trade adviser Peter Navarro related to the tariffs. Navarro told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that the Tesla CEO is “simply protecting his own interests, as any businessperson would do.”
“He’s in Texas assembling cars that have big parts of that car from Mexico, China—the batteries come from Japan or China, the electronics come from Taiwan,” Navarro added.
Italy’s Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said earlier on Saturday the government wanted “de-escalation” with the United States following Trump’s tariff announcement, and warned against Italy—a member of the European Union—imposing retaliatory tariffs.
Over the past week or so, Tesla stock declined more than 4 percent, while the three major American stock indexes saw larger plunges of 5 to 9 percent after the tariff announcements.
Previously, Musk has been cautious about tariffs. During an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan last year, Musk said that duties could create supply chain problems for a number of companies.
“I think you need to be careful with tariffs,” Musk said at the time. “I deal a lot with supply chain issues, like the global automotive supply chain for Tesla is incredibly complex. So when there are sudden changes in tariffs ... it messes everything up.”
