It didn’t cut the ice with US trade representative Jamieson Greer. “The EU punitive litigation is another indicator that it completely ignores the US national security order and indeed international security, indicating that EU trade and economic policies are not a step away from reality,” Greer said in a statement.
An early start
The European Commission, a senior official in the bloc, will explain its member states at breakfast Wednesday. This is just hours after US tariffs began at one midnight in Washington or at 5:00am in Brussels.
In the weeks since Trump returned to the White House and began announcing tariffs, the EU has been speaking out about its preparedness to fight back against “unfair tariffs.” On Monday, Trade Commissioner Malossivchovich said the bloc is “ready to protect businesses, workers and consumers.”
“We can’t rely on the US anymore. That’s a new reality. So we have to take a difficult blow, that’s the only medicine,” said one EU diplomat.
Sifchovich visited Washington last month to start a dialogue to avoid a trade war, but the Trump administration concluded that it was uninterested. “In the end, one hand can’t applaud,” he said Monday.
Meanwhile, the UK is keeping it unremarkable. “We’re not going to respond to kneeling,” said a Business and Trade official, noting that No. 10 emphasizes “continuing to take a cool approach” to tariffs and Trump’s hostile trade policies.
