Brussels has a “strong plan to retaliate” against Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, Ursula von der Leyen has said while calling for a “negotiated solution”.
The European Union holds “a lot of cards” that can be leveraged to negotiate, dissuade and, if needed, “push back” against Donald Trump’s plan to impose sweeping reciprocal tariffs on all America’s trading partners, Ursula von der Leyen has said on the eve of what the US president has dubbed “Liberation Day”.
Trump, whose unprecedented initiative has antagonised long-time allies, rattled stock markets and raised the spectre of recession, has said his tariffs would target “all countries” as a starting point and then “let’s see what happens”.
For the bloc, the reciprocal tariffs will come on the heels of 25% duties on steel, aluminium and car exports. The European Commission has presented countermeasures to retaliate against those but delayed their introduction until mid-April.
With a new, larger raft of Trump tariffs now imminent, the Commission is hardening its tone and warning its response will have no red lines.
“Let me be clear: Europe did not start this confrontation. We think it is wrong,” von der Leyen said on Tuesday, speaking before the European Parliament.
“We have everything we need to protect our people and our prosperity. We have the largest Single Market in the world. We have the strength to negotiate. We have the power to push back. And the people of Europe should know: together we will always promote and defend our interests and values. And we will always stand up for Europe.”
The Commission president said tariffs would raise prices for everyday consumers, destroy jobs, create a “bureaucratic monster” at customs and be a “nightmare” for US companies that sell their goods to Europe. She also predicted the duties would run counter to Trump’s much-touted agenda to re-industrialise America.
“This confrontation is in no one’s interest,” she said.
Throughout her speech, von der Leyen insisted the Commission’s goal would be a “negotiated solution” to prevent what is rapidly shaping up to be an all-out trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic, which analysts expect to have disastrous economic consequences at a time of heightened global uncertainty.
“We will approach these negotiations from a position of strength. Europe holds a lot of cards: from trade to technology to the size of our market,” von der Leyen said.
However, she pointedly added, if these talks fail to yield a compromise, Brussels will not hesitate to take “firm countermeasures”, with all options on the table.
Commission officials have already signalled the potential response might go beyond the traditional tit-for-tat on goods and include services, which have so far remained untouched. In 2023, the EU recorded a surplus of goods with the US worth €156.6 billion but a deficit of services worth €108.6 billion.
“We would all be better off if we could find a constructive solution,” von der Leyen told lawmakers in Strasbourg.
“At the same time, it also has to be clear: Europe has not started this confrontation. We do not necessarily want to retaliate but we have a strong plan to retaliate if necessary.”
As trade tensions increase, von der Leyen has intensified her engagement with the leaders across the bloc to ensure a unified front against the White House.
While heads of state and government agree the Trump tariffs cannot go unanswered, they disagree on which products should be targeted in reaction, fearing the countermeasures could damage key industries of their domestic economies.
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