Although the European Commission says that negotiations with the US on trade are continuing at a high level, it has said it is prepared to react harshly if the tariffs announced by President Donald Trump materialise.
The Commission says dialogue with the US has not been interrupted despite President Trump's announcement on Wednesday evening of new tariffs of 25 % on EU goods.
"We stand for dialogue, openness and reciprocity," said a Commission spokesman Olof Gill and assured that there are high-level contacts between the US administration and the EU. "We're still in the early stages of figuring out what's going on," Gill added.
The comment followed a statement by the EU executive on Wednesday evening reiterating that it was prepared to react "strongly" and "immediately" if tariffs on EU goods were raised, but no countermeasures have been announced at this stage.
"The EU will always protect European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified tariffs," said Gill.
Responding to the US president's claim that the bloc was created to "screw the United States," Gill added that "The EU is an asset to the United States", and stressed that "US investments in Europe are highly profitable".
Trump had previously announced that 25% tariffs would be in place on all aluminium and steel imports into the US, including from the EU, from 12 March. His administration is also working on reciprocal tariffs on imports from the EU on a country-by-country basis.
Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič travelled to Washington last week to meet his US counterpart, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. "It was a very productive meeting," Gill said, adding that 'had the opportunity to see where each other's principles and red lines lay'.
Meanwhile, the EU and the US are fighting a narrative battle over numbers: Trump claims the US suffers a $300 billion trade deficit with the EU, while the EU says any deficit in goods trade between the blocs is offset by a surplus in services trade, which the EU says reduces the US deficit to $50 billion.
"Barriers to fair trade are unjustified, especially between trading partners. It's a lose-lose situation for both," said the Commission's Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné on the X network.
EU "was created to preserve peace, build respect between our nations, create free and fair trade, and strengthen our transatlantic friendship. Simple as that." wrote the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The European Commission has been working on retaliatory measures for more than two weeks, while trying to negotiate with the Americans. A list of products already targeted in the 2018 trade dispute between the Trump administration and the Europeans over aluminium and steel is ready.
An arsenal of counter-sanctions could also be applied, but the decision-making process would take longer. Such measures could concern services or commercial aspects of intellectual property rights.
euronews/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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