European Union vows countermeasures to Trump tariffs if talks fail, von der Leyen says
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen holds a joint press conference with Antonio Costa at the end of the European Council Summit in Brussels, Belgium, on March 20, 2025.
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The European Union is preparing measures to counter the latest tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump, if negotiations with the White House fail, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday.
Trump had imposed 20% tariffs on the bloc on Wednesday.
Speaking on a livestreamed broadcast, the EC president said that Trump’s move was a “major blow” to the world economy, which she said would “massively suffer.”
“There seems to be no order in the disorder, no clear path to the complexity and chaos that is being created as all U.S. trading partners are hit,” von der Leyen said.
The EU chief warned of “immense consequences,” saying the effect would be felt immediately and that consumers around the world as well as businesses would be negatively impacted.
“Uncertainty will spiral and trigger the rise of further protectionism, [and] the consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe, also for the most vulnerable countries, which are now subject to some of the highest U.S. tariffs.”
Von der Leyen called for negotiations, saying that the bloc will work towards reducing barriers, not raising them.
“It is not too late to address concerns through negotiations,” she said. “Let’s move from confrontation to negotiation.”
The EC president said that she agreed with Trump that some countries were taking unfair advantage of the current rules in world trade and the EU was ready to support efforts to make the global trading system “fit for the realities of the global economy.”
However, she also warned the U.S. ‘reaching for tariffs as your first and last tool will not fix it.”
Von der Leyen’s comments come after retaliatory duties were announced by the bloc after the U.S. imposed tariffs on last month in a bid to protect European workers and consumers. The EU at the time said it would introduce counter-tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28 billion) worth of U.S. goods.
Previously suspended duties — which were at least partially in place during Trump’s first term as president — are set to be re-introduced alongside a slew of additional duties on further goods.
Industrial-grade steel and aluminum, other steel and aluminum semi-finished and finished products, along with their derivative commercial products, such as machinery parts and knitting needles were set to be included. A range of other products such as bourbon, agricultural products, leather goods, home appliances and more were also on the EU’s list.
Following a postponement, these tariffs are expected to come into effect around the middle of April.
