The European Union has promised to take countermeasures against the United States if the administration of US President Donald Trump introduces 30 percent tariffs on imports from the bloc next month.
After ministers met in Brussels on Monday to discuss the tariff threat Trump issued over the weekend, the EU’s trade representative Maros Sefcovic said such a move by Washington would be “absolutely unacceptable”.
Sefcovic said the 27-nation bloc, which is the US’s largest business partner, wanted to reach an agreement through negotiations.
“I’m absolutely 100 percent sure that a negotiated solution is much better than the tension which we might have after August 1,” he told reporters in Belgium, adding that “we must be prepared for all outcomes”.
Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the foreign minister of Denmark, which currently holds the presidency of the EU, reinforced the same message.
“The EU remains ready to react and that includes robust and proportionate countermeasures if required and there was a strong feeling in the room of unity,” he said.
As part of its preparations, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed that the EU had drawn up plans to target US goods worth $24.5bn.
Trump’s latest trade war escalation has alarmed European politicians and businesses operating in Europe.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said such high US duties would “hit the German export industry to the core”.
Meanwhile, the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union, a group that represents major US companies in the EU, said Trump’s plan could “generate damaging ripple effects across all sectors of the EU and US economies”.
Amid the uncertainty, European stocks fell on Monday, with car and alcohol stocks among those worst affected.
Speaking from the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, Trump said he was still willing to talk with trade partners, including the EU, as he looked to boost the US economy and revitalise domestic manufacturing.
After targeting dozens of countries with so-called “reciprocal tariffs” in April, the US president paused them for 90 days to negotiate individual agreements.
As well as targeting the EU last week, Trump also threatened to bring 25 percent tariffs against Japan and South Korea, 30 percent tariffs against Mexico, and 35 percent tariffs against Canada.
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