“Tariffs are taxes — bad for business, worse for consumers,” von der Leyen said. “Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered — they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures.”
Just as Trump imposed similar tariffs during his first presidency, the EU countermeasures could easily amount to those that were used to retaliate then if the measures come into force March 12.
Bernd Lange, the chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, warned that previous trade measures were only suspended and could legally be easily revived.
“When he starts again now, then we will, of course, immediately reinstate our countermeasures,” Lange told rbb24 German radio.