It is now just a matter of hours before US President Donald Trump unveils the extent of his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, scheduled for 2 April. The European Commission is trying to reassure citizens and businesses: “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”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told MEPs on Tuesday 1 April.
She advocated a three-stage European response: negotiations, response and diversification of partners. A large number of MEPs gave their support.
The European Parliament was united against protectionism, but called on the Commission to protect the interests of European businesses and citizens. The Chairman of the EPP Group, Manfred Weber (German), believes that US services must now be tackled. “Digital giants only pay little for our digital infrastructure that they benefit so much from”, he told his colleagues.
France’s Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D) also thinks that efforts should target where it hurts: “Digital services are at the heart of American power, so we need to tackle these multinationals with our own laws”.
His Greens/EFA colleague Anna Cavazzini (German) concurs: “A European digital levy would hit Trump’s closest allies and raise money to help the affected sectors”. He also mentioned the possible use of the ‘anti-coercion’ tool.
While the President of the Commission assured MEPs that all the instruments were on the table, at no point did she mention the digital sector in her speech, or the ‘anti-coercion’ tool.
On the other hand, she indicated that the European Commission was ready to “work on the trade balance for goods and services”. For several months now, Donald Trump has been criticising the EU’s trade surplus in goods. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal with the editorial staff)