EU will 'do the same' if US implements tariff hikes: French finance minister
French Finance Minister Eric Lombard has said the European Union will retaliate with tit-for-tat measures if the United States imposes tariffs on European products.
Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers meeting in Cape Town on Thursday, Lombard told AFP that the EU would "do the same."
"It is clear that if the Americans maintain the tariff hikes, as President [Donald] Trump announced, the EU will do the same," Lombard said.
He added the EU is prepared to impose the same 25 percent tariffs in response to Trump's tariff announcements.
"Even if it is not in the general interest, we too must protect our interests and the interests of the countries of the Union," Lombard pointed out.
On Wednesday, Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on goods imported from the EU.
Earlier, he had accused the EU of not importing enough American products, saying he would work to “straighten that out” by imposing duties or urging an expansion of oil and gas purchases.
Speaking at an annual meeting of global elites in Davos, Switzerland on January 21, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Europe was ready to negotiate with Trump.
The EU's "first priority will be to engage early, discuss common interests, and be ready to negotiate," the European official said.
“We will be pragmatic, but we will always stand by our principles to protect our interests and uphold our values,” she added.
Lombard said diplomats from the G7 countries spoke to US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent on Thursday, warning that the "tariff wars lead to inflation, lower growth and are not a solution."
He urged Bessent to avoid the tariff wars launched by Trump against other countries.
In his inaugural speech last month, Trump vowed to take immediate action to overhaul the US trade system, vowing to slap new “tariffs and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens” instead of taxing the Americans.
"They treat us very, very badly. So they're going to be in for tariffs," he said of the EU. "You can't get fairness unless you do that."
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