The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said on Tuesday that there are no winners in trade wars, after the US announced 20 percent tariffs on European goods.
“It is clear that all these tariffs will raise prices for consumers,” Kallas said ahead of a meeting of EU defense ministers in Poland.
She added that the EU must now consider how to strengthen its own defense industry.
“We are currently buying a lot from the Americans, but we need to diversify our portfolio so that we have the capacity to produce here,” she said, adding that the bloc would also seek weapons from other allies.
“European countries are already supplying more than half of the ammunition to Ukraine,” she added, but called for faster action in support of Kiev.
Kallas added that she expected countries to announce more short-term aid to Ukraine at a meeting of NATO defense ministers.
“The stronger they are on the battlefield, the stronger they are at the negotiating table,” Kallas concluded.
