On Tuesday, European leaders pledged revenge after President Trump announced that he would raise the customs tariffs on aluminum and steel to 25 percent, even when they had hope in a possible deal that could be launched from the painful effects of the economy.
European Union officials have argued that Europe and the United States are deeply intertwined and that igniting the trade war will harm both sides. But they were also quietly preparing to respond against the potential American definitions, and officials said they were ready for counter -measures if it was not possible to find a commercial solution.
“The unjustified customs tariff for the European Union – it will lead to proportional and proportional counter measures,” said Ursula von der Lin, President of the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union in a statement.
Maros Sefcovic, European Union Commissioner accused of trade and economic security, The members said From the European Parliament on Tuesday that the new American definitions were “a loss of loss scenario”, adding that “time has come” for the European response.
He said: “We are currently evaluating the scope of the measures announced overnight and we will respond in a strong and proportional way through counter -measures.”
Steel and aluminum tariff It is expected To enter into force on March 12, leave some time for possible negotiation.
Former President Joseph R. Biden Junior had reached an agreement with European leaders in 2021 that allowed specific amounts of steel and aluminum to enter the United States free from customs tariffs. It was the deal It spread in 2023 It was scheduled to remain in effect until the end of this year.
According to the US Department of Commerce, the United States imported about four million metric tons of solid products and 283,000 metric tons of aluminum products from the European Union in 2022. Germany is the largest European steel source to the United States, followed by Italy and implemented by Spain.
Europe is expected to tighten its guarantees on the local steel industry, but the timing of the response remained unconfirmed on Tuesday.
“We are not in a position that allows us to say exactly when we will respond, very tangible,” said Paula Benho, President of the European Union spokeswoman. During a press conference Tuesday.
For Europe, steel and aluminum tariffs are only a first shoe. In recent days, Mr. Trump has made clear that he could announce more “mutual” definitions on a large scale early Tuesday. They are likely to affect the European Union, and may seek to equal customs tariff rates between economists over major products such as cars.
For the European Union auto companies, the United States is the second most important market, after Britain.
Economists in Goldman Sachs wrote in a research note on Tuesday: “It seems likely that the mutual tariff is equivalent to the automatic definitions – this will mainly target the European Union, which contains a 10 percent tariff for cars.” European Union officials have already suggested that they might think Low tariffs On cars.
Chad Bonn, an older colleague at the Peterson Institute for International Economy, who focuses on trade, while trying to negotiate, said Europe itself in a different position from the place where Mr. Trump was in a higher tariff in 2018.
Both the war in Ukraine and a more aggressive position on China have increased the risks of Europe, and they urged officials to emphasize the importance of across the Atlantic cooperation.
Mr. Bonn said: “It is a completely different position from the place where they were in the first administration.”
“They may decide the following: No, no, the United States is not a reliable partner here,” he said. But “they have to think about this as a greater group of issues – it’s not just trade and definitions.”
Europe’s economy is also growing more slowly, putting many of its member states in a weaker place heading to a possible trade war. The economy of 20 countries using the euro currency was fixed in the fourth quarter of 2024, after only 0.4 percent expanded in the previous quarter.
