BRUSSELS — The European Union said it was ready to retaliate after U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose 30 percent tariffs on the bloc.
In a letter sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday and posted on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said: “Starting on August 1, 2025, we will charge the European Union a Tariff of only 30 percent on EU products sent into the United States, separate from all Sectoral Tariffs.”
The president added: “If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs and retaliate, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 30 percent that we charge.”
In a statement that icily took note of Trump’s missive, von der Leyen said the EU was ready to keep talking to the U.S. while also considering “proportionate countermeasures.”
“We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests,” said von der Leyen. “Imposing 30 percent tariffs on EU exports would disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Commission staff were abruptly told to put weekend plans on hold and report for duty, while national capitals immediately went into crisis mode to try and assess the next move.
Five EU diplomats confirmed that ambassadors would convene at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday for emergency talks, ahead of a meeting of the bloc’s trade ministers in Brussels on Monday.
Not too late
In a statement, the office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni raised hopes that the U.S. tariffs could yet be averted.
“It is now essential to remain focused on the negotiations, avoiding polarization that would make reaching an agreement more difficult,” the Palazzo Chigi said. A deal was needed to strengthen the Western alliance, it added: “Particularly in the current environment — it would make no sense to trigger a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic.”
The EU had been pushing for a preliminary deal that would have locked in a one-way baseline tariff at 10 percent on goods entering the U.S. from Europe. It was also seeking relief for specific sectors, including cars, aircraft and spirits.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, responding to Trump’s trade threat, gave his “full support” to von der Leyen and her chief trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič. He said his clear preference was for “a negotiated solution that avoids escalation.”
“I hope that negotiations will continue in the weeks ahead and that they will be successful,” added Martin. Ireland, Europe’s leading pharmaceuticals exporter to the U.S., is particularly vulnerable to any escalation in trade tensions.
Time is tight
Although time is getting tight, European diplomats said there was still enough time to avert a full-scale trade war.
“The letter might read like a decree, but everyone will notice the date of Aug. 1,” one of the diplomats told POLITICO. “If it truly were a decree, it would enter into force tomorrow. This gives us three weeks for negotiations that were at a very far advanced stage already.”
A first round of retaliatory EU tariffs on €21.5 billion in imports from the U.S. is due to enter into force at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. The bloc is also considering further countermeasures covering around €70 billion in U.S. goods.
Another diplomat, granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, added that extending the suspension of the first round of retaliation until Aug. 1 could make sense to aid negotiations, as the EU meanwhile prepares its second package.
In his letter, Trump opened the door for further adjustments to the threatened tariffs if the EU opened its “heretofore closed Trading Markets to the United States, and eliminate your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers … These Tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country.”
In her statement, von der Leyen pushed back on the allegation, repeated throughout Trump’s letter, that the U.S. was treated unfairly by the bloc. “Few economies in the world match the European Union’s level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices,” she said.
Tommaso Lecca and Shawn Pogatchnik contributed reporting. This story has been updated.
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