There is a broad consensus among EU leaders on how to conduct relations with the United States. “The unjustified tariffs imposed on the EU will not go unanswered – they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures”, assured the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Tuesday 11 February.
A few hours earlier, US President Donald Trump had imposed a flat tariff of 25% on all steel and aluminium imports from 12 March. This measure will therefore impact the EU, which until now has had a temporary agreement with Washington.
Mrs von der Leyen immediately received the support of the President of the European Council, António Costa, who counted on the unity of the 27 Member States “to defend the interests of businesses, workers and citizens”.
The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, also felt that the EU needed to react together. He hoped that negotiations would be possible so that the United States would not take the “absurd path of tariffs”.
Crisis meetings. On Tuesday 11 February, the President of the European Commission held talks with the US Vice President, J.D. Vance, in Paris, notably on this subject (see other news).
The Member States, who are concerned about the repercussions on the European economy, have decided to hold an extraordinary meeting of trade ministers by videoconference on Wednesday 12 February.
Unless an amicable solution can be found with the Trump administration, the EU will have to impose countermeasures of various kinds. It could reintroduce its punitive tariffs on strategic American products, which are currently suspended until the end of March. The European Commission has so far refused to comment on this possibility.
Start using the ‘anti-coercion’ tool. The EU could also make use of its new ‘anti-coercion’ tool, which has never before been used. This allows the EU to retaliate when a third country uses economic coercion to force it to change its policy. A number of players in European institutions believe that the US President is using the tariffs to make the EU back down on the decisions it has taken to restrict the activities of certain American digital giants.
At the European Parliament on Tuesday 11 February, several MEPs discussed the use of anti-coercive measures to hit the United States with restrictive measures. “Nothing should be dismissed. Everything must be considered”, insisted Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (Renew Europe, French).
For its part, the EPP group is now open to responding by force. “The EU must answer towards the tariffs in a proportionate, WTO-compatible manner. We have well-developed trade defence measures, ready to be used”, said Jörgen Warborn (EPP, Swedish).
It is becoming apparent to most of the European Parliament’s political groups that the US President will only listen to the balance of power. “You don’t stop a bully by giving him what he wants. Otherwise, he will keep on bullying”, explained Belgian MEP Kathleen van Brempt (S&D).
While a large proportion of the groups are in agreement that the tariffs do not benefit anyone, the members of the ECR and PfE groups, who are admirers of the Trump method, are more nuanced in their approach. In their view, the US President is legitimately defending his country’s interests, and the EU should ensure that it protects its companies by not imposing rules on them in the first place.
Worries for economic players. The European representative of steel producers, Eurofer, has reacted strongly to the US tariff increases: “if all product exemptions and TRQs are now removed, the EU could lose up to 3.7 million tonnes of steel exports to the U.S.”. According to Eurofer, these measures risk trade flows being redirected, for example by increasing Chinese steel exports to the EU. The organisation is urgently calling for a review of the European safeguard measure, which it believes is no longer sufficiently effective.
The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham EU) has also expressed its concerns and reiterated that the EU is not a threat to American national security.
“We should be building, not breaking, economic bridges”, said Vladimír Dlouhý, President of Eurochambres.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), for its part, called for EU action to be taken in consultation with the trade unions, “to protect jobs and incomes and ensure this situation does not escalate”. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)