Lisbon, April 10, 2025 (Lusa) — The prime minister announced on Thursday that Portugal's government has prepared a set of measures "totalling more than €10 billion" to respond to the tariffs applied by the United States.
Luís Montenegro was speaking at the press conference following the cabinet meeting dedicated to the tariffs applied by the United States of America, which took place at the prime minister's official residence in Lisbon.
"Portugal is linked to the United States of America by a solid friendship and an intense political and economic relationship (...) But sometimes it has to be said, even with our great friends we have some differences," he said.
The prime minister argued that "the absolute priority is to negotiate with the United States" and said that Portugal is completely aligned with the positions taken by the European Commission.
The diversification of markets and the rapid implementation of the agreement already signed between the EU and Mercosur were other priorities defended by the Portuguese prime minister, who welcomed the 90-day pause in tariffs announced on Tuesday by US President Donald Trump.
In his speech, which lasted around 15 minutes, Montenegro acknowledged that the increase in tariffs announced by the United States - which has since been suspended - "threatens world economic growth and could lead to a trade conflict" which, he considered, "benefits no-one".
Regarding the Portuguese situation, the prime minister recalled that the United States is the fourth largest destination for Portuguese exports, acknowledging that they could be directly affected and that the Portuguese economy "could be affected indirectly".
"Portugal welcomes the 90-day pause, which shows this is not a time for hasty and reflective statements. We will continue to work with the European Commission and follow the European Union's negotiations hand in hand, but always with the awareness that a pause, this pause, is just that, a pause and that we have to get our homework done, at home and also on a European scale," he said.
The prime minister added that history shows that protectionism is not the solution and that improving trade rules involves dialogue, reforms and effective application of the rules.
"The answer to this trade challenge is twofold. Firstly, externally, where we coordinate and act at the European level. And internally, where we take national measures to support the most affected sectors," he said, before Economy Minister Pedro Reis detailed the package of measures.
On both levels, he argued, "hasty and impulsive reactions, without rigorous evaluation, only exacerbate the problems".
"We have been coordinating with the European Commission and our European partners daily for weeks. I have been in frequent telephone contact with the President of the European Commission. And now that we know the effective measures taken by the United States, the European Union is responding appropriately," he defended.
Montenegro did not answer the questions at the end, which could only be addressed to the economy minister, and never referred to any political leader.
Over the last week, the PS general secretary, Pedro Nuno Santos, has accused the government of inaction in its response to the US tariffs and regretted that the executive secretary didn't react more quickly "as the Spanish government did".
SMA/ADB // ADB.
Luss
