EU wields ‘sledgehammer’ against Trump tariffs

“Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers. These tariffs are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. In Europe and in the United States. The European Union must act to protect consumers and business.”

Speaking before the announcement, one European steel industry representative said that Brussels would “go full sledgehammer because they are so fed up with Trump.”

The 27-nation bloc — a common market spanning 450 million people — wants to send an unmistakable message that the EU is serious about defending its economic interests should Trump launch a full-scale trade war.

The $1.7 trillion transatlantic trade relationship has been pivotal to the West’s postwar prosperity. But Trump, angered by the persistent U.S. trade deficit in goods, sees tariffs as a way to force businesses to bring industrial investment and jobs back to the United States.

The U.S. levies on steel and aluminum would hit Canada and Mexico the hardest — but the EU, as the No. 3 supplier of steel to America, would not survive unscathed. Brussels worries that further “reciprocal” tariffs threatened by Trump would, if implemented, hit exports of automobiles, pharmaceuticals and food.

The Commission left the door open to a deal with Trump, saying it “remains ready to work with the U.S. administration to find a negotiated solution” and adding that its measures “can be reversed at any time should such a solution be found.”