Europe ready to respond ‘proportionately’ as Trump sells tariffs, says top EU official
Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Euro and Social Dialogue, pictured at the Renaissance Harbor View Hotel in Wan Chai. 02DEC17 SCMP/ Xiaomei Chen (Photo by Chen Xiaomei/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)
South China Morning Post | South China Morning Post | Getty Images
Europe will respond to any tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump in a proportionate manner, the European Union’s economic commissioner told CNBC on Wednesday.
“If there is a need to defend our economic interests, we will respond in a proportionate way,” Valdis Dombrovskis told CNBC Wednesday.
“We are ready to defend our values and also our interests and rights if necessary,” he added, speaking to CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Since his inauguration on Monday, Trump has repeated his threat to impose tariffs on EU goods entering the States, telling reporters that the EU was “very, very bad for us. So they will be for fees. That’s the only way. . . you’ll get equity.”
He also said his administration was discussing imposing a surcharge 10% fee on goods imported from China, starting in February.
Dombrovskis said that the United States and Europe were strategic allies and it was important for them to work together, both geopolitically and economically. He said European officials were talking with their American counterparts to find a “pragmatic” solution to the tariff discussion.
This is a developing story and will be updated soon.
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2025-01-22 09:40:00
