by Philip Blenkinsop and Benoit Van Overstraeten
Brussels (Reuters)-The twenty-seven undertook on Thursday planning their response to the customs duties imposed by Donald Trump, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen assuring that the European block was standing ready to counter-attack.
Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union (EU) was finalizing a first “package” of customs duties of 26 billion euros on American goods for mid-April, in response to those imposed by Washington on steel and aluminum that entered into force on March 12.
“We are currently preparing new countermeasures to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail,” the president of the European Commission said from Uzbekistan.
A second Riposte game will be ready around the end of April, said Sophie Primas, the French government spokesperson, adding that the mechanism and the products considered were not yet “decided”.
Member States must vote on Wednesday April 9 on the countermeasures adopted on American steel and aluminum, according to an EU leader.
Finland called for unity, claiming that all of Europe had to combine itself to face the pitfall of American customs duties.
“I recommend that all my European partners dialogue with the American administration,” said Finnish president Alexander Stubb. “The dialogue is essential,” he added.
Some European officials push for very targeted decisions, capable of reaching the American president, such as the Austrian Minister of the Economy Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer.
“We have to target the Republican States and the friends of Donald Trump, Tech companies,” said the curator at a press conference.
Others like the president of the Spanish government Pedro Sanchez opted for an immediate response.
The Spanish government will implement a plan of 14.1 billion euros to limit the impact of American customs taxes, he announced.
He also said that he had asked the European Commission to establish a background funded by revenue on customs duties imposed on imports from the United States.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Europe was ready to negotiate with Washington but that it was also prepared to provide a “clear answer”.
The nature of the response to American customs duties will be on the menu for the discussions of the meeting of the Trade Ministers of the Twenty-seven which must be held Monday in Luxembourg.
European Commerce Commissioner Maros SEFCOVIC wrote on X that he would teach himself with his American counterparts on Friday.
“We will act calmly, gradually and united while calibrating our response and providing enough time for discussions,” he said. “But we will not stay in the crossing arms if we do not reach an agreement,” he said.
The United States and the European Union maintain the most important trade relations in the world, with exchanges of goods and services worth 1.500 billion euros (1,550 billion dollars) in 2023.
American tech in the viewfinder
In the event of a trade war, Brussels has fewer targets than Washington, since American imports of EU goods totaled 347 billion euros in 2024, compared to 503 billion euros in EU exports to the United States, according to the EU Statistics Agency Eurostat.
The EU could also be reluctant to target American oil and gas exports, which represent almost a quarter of its American imports, and exports of pharmaceutical products which represents 10%.
But the EU could find its salvation in the American tech sector and has means to curb the activities of large American companies in the sector, many of which were at the front lodges during the inauguration of Donald Trump.
The EU currently conducts surveys against Apple, Alphabet, X and META under the Digital Market Regulations (DMA), which requires competition obligations, and that on digital services (DSA), which covers the moderation of content.
It is also likely that she adds Amazon to her list.
The DMA regulation provides fines of up to 10% of global turnover or 20% in the event of a recurrence. For the DSA, the maximum fine is 6% of turnover.
The European Central Bank estimated that customs duties of 25% on European imports would lower the economic growth of the area the first year. European countermeasures would bring this figure to half a percentage.
( Zhifan Liu, edited by Sophie Louet)
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