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Minister for Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship Stefan Radu Oprea stated on Monday in Craiova within the Automotive Industry Forum 2019 that the representatives of the automotive industry in the EU await the outcome of negotiations with the US on customs duties for imported cars.
"You know very well the challenges at the level of the World Trade Organization, but, moreover, I believe that, as a result of the dialogue we had together, you are also monitoring the results that we, as the Presidency of the Council of the Union wish to have when we talk about the mandates that we have to give our commissioner with the US. As the 90 days pass and President Trump has to express his choice whether he will come or not with customs duties in the automotive area. I believe that continuous dialogue, committed dialogue is the solution that the EU can have in this context," said Radu Oprea.
Oprea pointed out that another challenge facing the automotive industry in the EU is given by Brexit "so that the impact that this event will have on the automotive industry to be as small as possible, especially since we have an important Romanian community in the UK but also the jobs you create in Romania."
Radu Oprea also said that eight of the top 10 companies that are currently exporting to Romania are in the automotive field - Renault Dacia, Ford and Star Assembly being on the first three places - and asked the representatives of this industry to better integrate the SMEs from Romania in their production chain in order to reduce the costs and increase efficiency and to use the advantages that the Romanian IT industry can bring as added value for the products in the automotive sector.
