Hungary has a vital interest in securing a mutually advantageous customs agreement with the United States, according to the Deputy State Secretary for the agricultural market at the Ministry of Agriculture.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Portfolio Agrofood 2025 conference in Kecskemét, central-southern Hungary, Tamás Tarpataki addressed the agricultural consequences of the global trade war.
He noted that the US president’s 2024 campaign outlined sweeping changes to American policy, many of which have already been enacted or are underway, including shifts in economic and tax policy and the introduction of broad import tariffs aimed at reducing the trade deficit, Hungary Today reports.
“He recalled that in connection with the latter, Donald Trump announced in April that he planned to impose a 20% retaliatory tariff on the European Union on agricultural and food products, among other things, and then decided to suspend it for 90 days,” he said.
In response, the EU prepared a countermeasure package targeting imports valued at €21 billion, a move Hungary opposed, as it would impact approximately €180 million worth of Hungarian exports.
Brussels has also postponed the implementation of these measures until 14th July.
According to the deputy state secretary, Europe is seeking a resolution to the situation through negotiations, while simultaneously preparing potential countermeasures “in the spirit of caution,” but “there are no actual countermeasures on the table, this is still in the works.”
“If the US tariffs come into effect, this will also have a significant impact on the domestic agricultural economy: Hungarian exporters will face revenue losses, competitive disadvantages and even market restructuring,” Tarpataki stated.
“In general, the tariff war will increase costs and inflation, reduce profitability and consumer purchasing power, and have a negative impact on demand and consumer confidence. In addition, it will increase geopolitical risk and disrupt supply chains,” he added.
The deputy state secretary also said that “the US president does not want to punish anyone, he is simply trying to take measures to stabilise the US economy.”
However, it is a fact that Trump “has thrown a stone into the pond, and it is causing waves that have not been seen since World War II,” he went on to add.