Copenhagen, DENMARK – European member states called President Donald Trump’s 30% baseline tariff threat on imports from the European Union “absolutely unacceptable,” and “unjustified,” said Denmark Foreign Affairs Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
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Speaking at a July 15 press conference in Brussels, Rasmussen – who emerged after meeting with other European ministers – said the EU is ready to react.
On July 12, U. S. President Donald Trump posted a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on his social media site outlining a 30% tariff on all products exported from the EU to the U.S.
Trump cited what he called the “trade deficit” that the U.S. has with the EU as the need for these tariffs.
On July 12, von der Leyen said that imposing 30% tariffs on EU exports would “disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Trump initially gave a deadline for negotiations with the EU in July but on July 7 postponed the negotiations to August 1.
European Commission Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told journalists on July 15 that the EU is convinced that the transatlantic relationship deserves a negotiated solution.
But Šefčovič still said the EU needs to be ready for every outcome.
Von der Leyen said the EU will take proportionate counter-measures if required.
Youth Journalism International asked the European Commission on what the EU’s retaliation could be.
Olof Gill, spokesperson for trade at the European Commission, said two lists of countermeasures have been presented to member states. One list has already been approved by member states and the second list hadn’t been formally presented as of July 16, he said.
“Other measures” could be taken, Gill said, but the EU does not intend to impose any countermeasures ahead of the August 1 deadline.
Gill said he could not comment on what the other measures are.
Svend Roed Nielsen is a senior advisor at Think Tank Europa who is an expert in global trade policy and geopolitical consequences of trade.
In an interview with Youth Journalism International while on his summer holiday, Nielsen said it was a big surprise that Trump threatened 30% tariffs after his expectations that were going to be 10%.
One argument could be that if the EU had only a tariff of 10% it could create a harder time negotiating with other countries for Trump, said Nielsen.
The EU will need to retaliate if Trump follows through, according to Nielsen.
With 30% tariffs, many companies will have to close down, Nielsen said, because it is basically a new tax.
If no agreement is found, everything will be up in the air, said Nielsen.
Youth Journalism International also spoke to Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, trade coordinator for Renew Europe in the International Trade Committee in the European Parliament.
Vedrenne said 30% tariffs would cause instability in the EU. Companies deserve stability, she said, and these tariffs would cause a dangerous economic situation where consumers would need to pay for the instability.
The reason Trump has threatened the tariffs is due to politics, he sees a European car on US roads and decides to put tariffs on EU cars, said Vedrenne. He is doing this to get a better deal with the EU, said Vedrenne.
Even though different EU member states have various interests and will have different impacts from the tariffs, the EU should stay united, said Vedrenne. All member states have a common interest, she said, as trade is controlled at an EU level and not at a member state level.
Lynn Boylan, trade coordinator for The Left in the European Parliament, also spoke with Youth Journalism International.
Though she said she believes in giving control to member states, Boylan said in this case it is better left up to the EU to decide.
If von der Leyen and Trump were in a room they might find they have quite a bit of common ground, said Boylan.
Boylan doesn’t believe that Trump will go through with the tariffs, as he keeps changing his mind on deadlines.
Both Boylan and Vedrenne said Europe cannot be sure what will happen and will have to wait for the August 1 deadline to find out.
Noah Haynes is a Senior Reporter with Youth Journalism International from Copenhagen, Denmark. Lina Marie Schulenkorf is a Senior Reporter with Youth Journalism International from Dresden, Germany. Together they reported this story, and Haynes wrote it.
