Tesla’s CEO advocated for free movement of people between the two regions.
Elon Musk, the president’s high-tech entrepreneur and special advisor, said on Saturday that he wanted zero tariffs between the US and Europe just days after the Trump administration implemented broad mandates on countries around the world.
Speaking to Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini at the event on camera, Musk said he wanted more freedom of movement between North America and Europe.
“At the end of the day, I hope that both Europe and the US are, ideally agreeing to move to a zero-duty situation, ideally in my view, to effectively create a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk said.
Regarding the movement between the two regions, Musk added, “If people want to work in Europe or in North America, in my opinion, they should be allowed to do so.”
As part of what the administration called “liberation day” on April 2, President Donald Trump announced a universal baseline tariff for more than 10% of the major US trade partners, which are currently in trade surplus with the US. The European Union countries, calculated by the Trump administration, have charged the US 39% of tariffs and other trade costs on their goods, and have suffered a general tariff of 20% based on the plan.
Over the weekend, Musk criticized White House trade adviser Peter Navarro in relation to tariffs. Navarro told Fox News “To Sunday Morning Futures” that Tesla’s CEO “is simply protecting his own interests, as businessmen do.”
“He’s in Texas and builds a car with most of that car from Mexico, China. The batteries come from Japan or China, and the electronics come from Taiwan,” Navarro added.
Italian economy minister Giancarlo Giorgeti said on Saturday that the government wanted to “abdicate” with the United States following Trump’s tariff announcement, and warned it by impose retaliatory tariffs on Italian, a member of the European Union.
Over the past week or so, Tesla stocks have fallen by more than 4%, but three major US stock indices have seen a slump of 5-9% since tariff announcements.
Previously, Musk was cautious about customs duties. In an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan last year, Musk said the job could cause supply chain issues for many companies.
“I think you need to be careful about customs,” Musk said at the time. “Like Tesla’s global automotive supply chain, I deal with supply chain issues very much. So when there’s a sudden change in tariffs…it ruins everything.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
