Brussels vows ‘firm’ response to threatened Trump tariffs as EU braces for trade war

[Thiệu Ngô]

BRUSSELS — The European Union is warning U.S. President Donald Trump the bloc will retaliate if he imposes tariffs on EU goods.

By Zia Weise

The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, said it “regrets” Trump’s decision to impose blanket tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on Saturday. The U.S. president has vowed to take similar measures against the EU.

“Our trade and investment relationship with the U.S. is the biggest in the world. There is a lot at stake,” a Commission spokesperson said on Sunday. “Tariffs create unnecessary economic disruption and drive inflation. They are hurtful to all sides.”

Nevertheless, the spokesperson said, “the EU would respond firmly to any trading partner that unfairly or arbitrarily imposes tariffs on EU goods.”

France’s Industry Minister Marc Ferracci went further, demanding a “biting” response from Brussels, which manages trade relations on behalf of the EU's 27 member countries.

"Trade negotiations with Donald Trump must assume a form of power dynamic," Ferracci told France Info on Sunday.

Given Trump's threats to impose tariffs against the EU, “it is obvious that we must react,” Ferracci said, although he added that “we are waiting for the American administration’s decisions on what will concern Europe.”

Ferracci added that for countermeasures to be effective, “the response must focus on products that are important” to the U.S and that "it must be 'biting,' meaning it should have an impact on the American economy to have a credible threat in negotiations." He called on Brussels to not be naive and draw up a “Buy European Act.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed the benefits of open trade, but at the same time hinted that the EU has the ability to respond to any potential moves by the U.S.

“It’s important that we don’t divide the world with numerous tariff barriers,” Scholz said on Sunday after meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the U.K. The EU is "a strong economic area and has its own courses of action," Scholz said.

In contrast, German Finance Minister Jörg Kukies urged Europeans to keep calm and carry on. “One should not react to the first decisions with panic, but see them as the beginning of the negotiations and not as the end,” he was quoted as saying by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung during a trip to the Persian Gulf on Sunday.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani opted for a cautious tone, writing on X: "The tariff war is not good for anyone. ... We have ideas and strategies to protect our companies with Italy being the best ambassador for the EU in the dialogue with Washington."

Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, described Trump’s tariffs as violating international law. The EU now has to prepare “to defend our economic interests 1:1,” he added, while calling on Brussels to “stabilize and quickly expand” trade relations with other countries.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Saturday issued a video message telling people that there is “cause for concern but not for fear” after listing recent developments including irregular immigration, Russia’s war in Ukraine and Trump’s tariff threats.

Meanwhile, former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt called the U.S. tariffs a “blatant attack on its own people and a gift to billionaires, all while tearing apart his closest allies.”

He added: “The EU must not bow to his bullying tactics.”