EU Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė came to Utah on Friday with a message: If President Donald Trump follows through with aggressive global tariffs, “nobody else but consumers will pay for that” — and …
As Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wrapped up a trip across the northern border to discuss trade partnerships with Canada, an ambassador from across the Atlantic landed in Salt Lake City with the aim of preserving business relationships.
European Union Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė came to the Beehive State with a message: If President Donald Trump follows through with aggressive global tariffs, “nobody else but consumers will pay for that.”
Earlier this week, the Trump administration pressed pause on a “reciprocal” 20% tariff on all goods from the EU for 90 days — a move that Trump says will give the White House time to negotiate a better deal. The EU had announced retaliatory plans — now also shelved — hours earlier.
Still, a 10% minimum universal tariff and a 25% tariff on cars, steel and aluminum remain in place.
Neliupšienė told The Salt Lake Tribune in a Friday interview that she hopes Utah leaders can help increase pressure on Trump to negotiate a trade agreement. The ambassador is encouraging “every good word saying that tariffs will not solve the problem,” she said.
Her two-day agenda included visits with Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and two of Utah’s six members of Congress — Reps. Burgess Owens and Mike Kennedy. Trade, Neliupšienė said, was the highest priority on her list as she entered the meetings.
Republican officials in Utah have so far had split reactions to Trump’s tariffs.
Cox has repeatedly expressed skepticism, saying during a news conference on PBS Utah last month, “I think it’s a huge gamble.”
Owens, ahead of his meeting with Neliupšienė, praised Trump’s tariff plans in a Thursday interview with Fox Business, calling the president “an absolute genius of an entrepreneur.”
“He’s showing what it is to reward good behavior,” Owens said. “All those countries decided they wanted to at least have a conversation — that’s good behavior. Those who decided to retaliate on us, then they’re cut out of this whole process.”
The EU is Utah’s second largest trade partner, Neliupšienė said. According to the ambassador, trade between Utah and EU member countries approaches $10 billion annually.
Beyond inflating prices and disrupting supply chains, Neliupšienė contended, increasing tariffs risks eliminating jobs. She said over the last decade, Utah jobs at EU companies have increased by 48%.
“Our economies are so interlinked,” Neliupšienė said.
Source: Utah News