Scrambling to limit the “dire” consequences of sweeping new US tariffs, the EU on Thursday told President Donald Trump the door remained open for trade talks — while readying for a fight should negotiations fail.
Trump announced a 20 percent tariff for the European Union as part of a sweeping clampdown on imports to the United States that has fanned global trade war fears and sent markets tumbling.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called the levies a “major blow to the world economy”, coming on top of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports as well as cars and auto parts that have already hit the European Union hard.
“The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe,” she said in a pre-dawn address while travelling in Uzbekistan, warning of higher food, medicine and transport costs as well as inflation.
The European Commission president said Brussels was “preparing for further countermeasures”, which France and Germany both suggested could include targeting US tech firms.
But she emphasised it was “not too late to address concerns through negotiations”, aiming for a cool-headed response to the tariff threat facing the bloc.
“Let’s move from confrontation to negotiation,” von der Leyen said.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic has visited Washington twice since Trump took office in January and von der Leyen said he was “permanently” in contact with US counterparts.
Chasing a deal
Von der Leyen’s message was mirrored in multiple EU capitals.
Germany backed the efforts for a “negotiated solution”, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz also insisting “Europe will respond decisively, strongly, and appropriately” if talks fail.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who cleared her Thursday diary to focus on the response, described the new tariffs on the EU as “wrong” but said the bloc will do all it can “to work for a deal”.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou hit out at the levies as a “catastrophe” both for Europe and the United States.
Irish leader Micheal Martin said the tariffs were “bad for the world economy” but that Dublin would work with EU partners in “getting on a negotiation pathway with the US to limit the damage of these tariffs”.
Ireland is one of the most exposed EU countries as the second largest exporter of goods to the United States after Germany, while Italy is the third largest.
Britain — no longer an EU member and a staunch US ally — said it hoped an economic deal would “mitigate” the impact of the 10 percent tariff Trump is imposing on the UK.
‘Everything on the table’
After Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports took effect last month, the EU vowed to respond with levies on US goods worth up to $28 billion, kicking in from mid-April.
Brussels has not yet responded to the auto tariffs, which came into force on Thursday.
The European Commission, which leads the EU’s trade policy, said this week the bloc would take a two-pronged approach in responding to the full extent of Trump’s customs duties.
First will come the previously announced response to the steel and aluminium tariffs, while a second set of measures will be unveiled at a later stage — “before the end of April”, according to France.
French government spokeswoman Sophie Primas went further on Thursday to say the EU response would also “attack online services” although she stressed the riposte was still being negotiated among member states.
The bloc’s response could also concern “access to our procurement contracts”, Primas said.
“Everything is on the table,” German economy minister Robert Habeck said.
“The big tech companies have an incredible dominance in Europe and are largely exempt from European taxes,” he said.
There are fears in Europe that Trump’s higher customs duties will lead to a flood of cheap goods from other countries, especially China.
Von der Leyen said the EU would be “watching closely what indirect effects these tariffs could have” and vowed to protect the continent’s industries.
“Europe will stand at the side of those directly impacted,” she promised
