European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Tuesday that the European Union has all the instruments on the table to respond to US tariffs if necessary, as the world awaits the announcement of new trade measures by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
“Europe did not start this confrontation. We think it is wrong. We have everything we need to protect our people and our prosperity. We have the largest single market in the world. We have the power to negotiate. We have the power to respond to US tariffs,” von der Leyen said in Strasbourg.
The Commission chief stressed that “all instruments are on the table for countermeasures” and warned that tariffs would “only fuel inflation, the exact opposite of what we want to achieve.”
“We do not necessarily want to take countermeasures, but if necessary, we have a strong plan and we will implement it,” von der Leyen said at a debate with MEPs on the conclusions of a recent EU summit.
A few days ago, Trump threatened higher tariffs for the European Union and Canada if they work together to “cause economic damage to the USA”.
The EU first announced the first countermeasures and then postponed them until mid-April, including, for example, tariffs of 50 percent on American bourbon. In response, Trump threatened to impose tariffs of 200 percent on all wine and other alcoholic products from the EU if Brussels did so.
