EU prefers to talk than fight with US over Trump's tariffs
Published: 04:04 PM,Apr 07,2025 | EDITED : 08:04 PM,Apr 07,2025
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen listens to Norway's PM Jonas Gahr Store at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels. — AFP
LUXEMBOURG: European Union ministers broadly agreed on Monday to prioritise negotiations to remove tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump over retaliation even as it prepared a first set of targeted countermeasures. The 27-nation bloc faces 25% import tariffs on steel and aluminium and cars and 'reciprocal' tariffs of 20% from Wednesday for almost all other goods under Trump's policy to hit countries he says impose high barriers to US imports.
Ministers overseeing trade met in Luxembourg on Monday to debate the EU's response, as well as discuss relations with China. Many said the priority was to launch negotiations and avert an outright trade war. 'We need to remain calm and respond in a way that de-escalates. The stock markets right now show what will happen if we escalate straightaway. But we will be prepared to take countermeasures if needed to get the Americans at the table,' Dutch Trade Minister Reinette Klever told reporters.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a press conference in Brussels that the EU stood ready to negotiate a 'zero-for-zero' tariff pact for industrial goods. Talks with Washington to date have proven difficult. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic described his two-hour exchange with US counterparts as 'frank' as he told them their tariffs were 'damaging, unjustified'.
The bloc is likely to approve this week an initial set of countermeasures on up to $28 billion of US imports ranging from dental floss to diamonds, in response to Trump's steel and aluminium tariffs rather than the broader reciprocal levies. But even that move has proven fraught, with Trump threatening a 200% counter-tariff on EU alcoholic drinks if the bloc goes ahead with an earmarked 50% duty on US bourbon. France and Italy have expressed concern.
French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said there should be no taboos, including the EU's Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), which would allow it to target US services or to limit US companies' access to public procurement tenders in the EU. 'We cannot exclude any options on goods or services and, however we approach it, open the box to the European tool which is very comprehensive and which can be extremely aggressive,' he said. Others, however, urged caution.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, whose Greens will not be part of the next governing coalition, said the EU should realise it was in a strong position - if it was united. 'The stock markets are already collapsing and the damage could become even greater ... America is in a position of weakness,' he said in Luxembourg. Habeck added that Trump lieutenant Elon Musk's hope of zero tariffs between Europe and the United States reflected this point. — Reuters
Ministers overseeing trade met in Luxembourg on Monday to debate the EU's response, as well as discuss relations with China. Many said the priority was to launch negotiations and avert an outright trade war. 'We need to remain calm and respond in a way that de-escalates. The stock markets right now show what will happen if we escalate straightaway. But we will be prepared to take countermeasures if needed to get the Americans at the table,' Dutch Trade Minister Reinette Klever told reporters.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a press conference in Brussels that the EU stood ready to negotiate a 'zero-for-zero' tariff pact for industrial goods. Talks with Washington to date have proven difficult. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic described his two-hour exchange with US counterparts as 'frank' as he told them their tariffs were 'damaging, unjustified'.
The bloc is likely to approve this week an initial set of countermeasures on up to $28 billion of US imports ranging from dental floss to diamonds, in response to Trump's steel and aluminium tariffs rather than the broader reciprocal levies. But even that move has proven fraught, with Trump threatening a 200% counter-tariff on EU alcoholic drinks if the bloc goes ahead with an earmarked 50% duty on US bourbon. France and Italy have expressed concern.
French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said there should be no taboos, including the EU's Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), which would allow it to target US services or to limit US companies' access to public procurement tenders in the EU. 'We cannot exclude any options on goods or services and, however we approach it, open the box to the European tool which is very comprehensive and which can be extremely aggressive,' he said. Others, however, urged caution.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, whose Greens will not be part of the next governing coalition, said the EU should realise it was in a strong position - if it was united. 'The stock markets are already collapsing and the damage could become even greater ... America is in a position of weakness,' he said in Luxembourg. Habeck added that Trump lieutenant Elon Musk's hope of zero tariffs between Europe and the United States reflected this point. — Reuters