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US to face united and firm response from EU over potential tariffs, leaders say

By Joanna Sopinska

February 3, 2025, 13:44 GMT | Insight
EU leaders have put on a show of strength and confidence that the bloc is ready to respond in kind to potential US tariffs. Meeting today in Brussels, they also left the door open for negotiations with President Trump to avert the “totally unnecessary” EU-US trade war.
EU leaders have put on a show of strength and confidence that the bloc is ready to respond in kind to potential US tariffs. Meeting today in Brussels, they also left the door open for negotiations with President Trump to avert the “totally unnecessary” EU-US trade war.

Speaking ahead of a gathering of EU leaders today in Brussels, Donald Tusk, Poland’s Prime Minister said the EU will speak with one voice and it will follow a clear strategy to effectively respond to potential US tariffs.

“I hope that such a firm, clear, friendly, but tough European position will get across to the American administration,” Tusk said. Poland is leading the discussions of EU governments for the first six months of the year.

Tusk also said he hoped the “totally unnecessary” tariff war with the US can be avoided through talks and negotiations.

“I think that we have to do everything to avoid this totally unnecessary and stupid tariff or trade war, but at the same time, and this is my advice to all my colleagues here in Brussels, we can’t lose, during our possible talks with the American friends, our common sense,” Tusk said.

“We cannot lose our awareness of our interests, but at the same time, we cannot lose our European self-respect and self-confidence,” he added.

Trump said on Friday that he would “absolutely” target the EU with tariffs to address the large US trade deficit with the bloc (see here).

The EU has been working on an effective strategy to deal with Trump’s confrontational approach and be prepared for all eventualities, including steep tariffs on EU imports of cars, steel, aluminum or pharmaceuticals.

Trump said the US was planning to impose tariffs on those products, without specifying which economies or countries they would target.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron echoed today Tusk’s comments, saying the EU was ready to respond to US tariffs.

“If we were attacked on commercial issues, Europe as a strong power will have to be respected and therefore react,” the told reporters ahead of the meeting.

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said the EU was ready to respond in kind but he emphasized the need for cooperation with the US in the long run.

“It is clear that, as a strong economic area, we can shape our own affairs and can also react to customs policies with customs policies. We must and will do that, but the perspective and the goal should be that we proceed in such a way that it results in cooperation. Discussing that will be an important point,” Scholz said this morning.

He suggested the EU and US could re-engage in talks on free trade deals to diffuse tensions and avoid a trade war.

“The attempts at free trade agreements have not come to fruition at first, but in my view they can always be taken up again, but it is clear that the prerequisite for understanding is that you know your own strength. Europe can act,” Scholz added.

During the first Trump term, the two administrations held talks on smaller trade deals to address US concerns over its trade deficit with the bloc. But the talks were relatively unsuccessful, as they resulted only in a small agreement signed in 2020 on removing EU tariffs on imports of US lobster in exchange for lower US import levies on some $160 million worth of European goods.

EU leaders will hold a discussion this afternoon on the bloc’s strategy for talks with the US. But they won’t issue an official statement following the meeting.

Ansley Franco contributed reporting.

Please e-mail editors@mlex.com to contact the editorial staff regarding this story, or to submit the names of lawyers and advisers.


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