BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European digital rule-book is not up for negotiation, European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera said in response to comments made by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Lutnick on Monday said that the European Union should make its regulation of the tech sector more “balanced” in exchange for a reduction of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the bloc.

“We, Europeans, have adopted our rules to ensure fair markets and to protect consumers rights…It’s our duty to preserve our values and to defend our people,” Ribera said on Monday evening.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Yun Chee Foo, Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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