Another option on the table is the reactivation of tariffs of up to 30% against US products worth 93 billion euros.. These surcharges were approved in July of last year, but were put on hold after the trade agreement between Trump and Von der Leyen in Scotland.
“The European Union has tools and is prepared to respond. We will do everything necessary to protect the economic interests of the EU“, proclaimed the spokesperson for the Community Executive, Olof Gill.
The heads of State and Government of the Twenty-seven will hold a emergency summit next Thursday, January 22, starting at 7:00 p.m., the objective of which is to agree on a joint response to the coercion of the president of the United States.
“It is clear from the consultations between EU leaders, including President von der Leyen, that the priority is dialogue and not escalatey avoid the imposition of tariffsbecause this would end up harming consumers and companies on both sides of the Atlantic,” the spokesperson said.
“The EU has consistently underlined its shared transatlantic interest in peace and security in the Arctic, including through NATO,” he insisted.
However, European leaders’ constant calls for dialogue have so far had no effect on Trump. “The world will not be safe unless we have complete and total control over Greenland“says the US president in a letter to the Prime Minister of Norway.
“Denmark cannot protect this land from Russia or Chinaand I wonder why they have ‘property rights’ in the first place. There are no written documents, a ship simply arrived there hundreds of years ago, but we also had ships that arrived there,” Trump maintains.
The US president has announced an extra rate of 10%, which will apply from February 1 and will rise to 25% in June, against eight countries that have sent troops to Greenland: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland.
“We remain firm in our commitment to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark. We will always protect our strategic, economic and security interests,” responded the European Commission spokesperson.
Regarding the reactivation of tariffs against North American products worth 93,000 million euros, the Community Executive has explained that They will automatically apply again starting February 7unless they freeze again. “Nothing has been decided,” says Gill.
Regarding the Instrument against Economic Coercion, which would allow, for example, the imposition of taxes or restrictions on large US platforms, Brussels assures that its activation against the US “has never stopped being on the table.”
“We are operating in a really complex geopolitical reality, in which we have to be agile and be prepared to act when necessary. And in order to be prepared to act, those instruments are very clearly on the table“says the spokesperson.
“The EU has tools at its disposal and is prepared to respond if the tariffs with which we have been threatened are imposed. We will use these tools when necessary and will do everything necessary to protect the economic interests of the EU,” he insisted.
Although Von der Leyen will travel to the Davos forum this week, no bilateral meeting with Trump is currently planned, he explained.
Taking into account that the EU countries make up a single market and a customs union, can Trump impose tariffs individually on certain member states and not on the rest?
“It is technically possible, but doing so would be immensely complex from a bureaucratic and procedural point of view,” explained the spokesperson.
“It would lead to additional layers of complexity, which would hinder the smooth functioning of transatlantic merchandise trade, particularly for US importers,” it warns.