French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot urged the European Commission on Monday to react to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened imposition of 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum.
“It’s the European Commission that will determine which sectors that will be subject to these retaliatory measures,” Barrot said during an interview with French TV channel TF1.
“It has assured us that it would have been ready to pull it out when the time came. The time has come,” he added. “We should not hesitate when defending our interests.”
Trump, flying to the Superbowl on Sunday, told reporters he would announce the tariffs on Monday and further “reciprocal” tariffs on Tuesday.
Imposing the tariffs is likely to trigger a forceful reaction from Brussels. Steel and aluminum are are at the center of an unresolved dispute between Washington and Brussels dating back to 2018, when Trump imposed tariffs that were later suspended.
The EU’s retaliatory tariffs on bourbon whiskey, motorbikes or cranberry juice were paused during the Joe Biden administration. The truce is expected to lapse on the European side at the end of March.
The European Commission said there was no justification to impose the tariffs, and that it would react to protect the interests of European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified measures.“The imposition of tariffs would be unlawful and economically counterproductive,” the Commission said in a statement. “By imposing tariffs, the U.S. would be taxing its own citizens, raising costs for business, and fuelling inflation. Moreover, tariffs heighten economic uncertainty and disrupt the efficiency and integration of global markets.”
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