US President Donald Trump’s tariffs sent stock markets into sharp dives (Daniel ROLAND)
The EU has “everything on the table” as a response to President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs — including possibly targeting US Big Tech and taxing more American goods — should talks with Washington fail.
The European Commission, in charge of the EU’s trade policy, refuses to give any details on what its comeback to Trump’s 20 percent tariffs starting April 9 could include.
But France, Germany and Austria have suggested targeting the biggest digital companies, including Google and Facebook owner Meta.
So far, the commission has stressed that negotiations will be its priority. After talks with US counterparts on Friday, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said the EU was “committed to meaningful negotiations, but also prepared to defend our interests”.
These are the options the 27-country European Union has if further talks are unsuccessful:
– Tariffs –
When Trump hit steel and aluminium imports with a 25 percent tariff in March, the EU decided on “an eye for an eye” approach.
With his extra levies affecting $28 billion of the EU’s exports, Brussels opted to target US goods worth the same amount from mid-April, including Harley Davidson motorbikes and agricultural products like soybeans and meat.
Now the EU faces new tariffs of 20 percent announced by Trump this week, which has kickstarted another conversation inside the bloc about further retaliatory action.
“We will react in areas where it hurts the United States,” a senior EU official said.
Officials have previously said the EU will target goods from politically important US states, including soybeans produced in Louisiana, the home of US Speaker Mike Johnson, who pushes Trump’s agenda in Congress.
“We love soybeans, but we can get them from Brazil,” the EU official said.
“We like Harley-Davidsons, but we also like MotoGuzzi. Or we can buy Yamaha. So, there are alternatives there and we are not hurting ourselves.”
– Tech taxes? –
Although the commission has been coy about whether it has US Big Tech in its sights, France straight off the bat said the EU’s targets could include American tech titans.
French government spokeswoman Sophie Primas said the EU could go after online services, “which are not taxed today but could be”.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck echoed Primas, insisting “everything is on the table”.
While Trump has trade in goods in his sights, the United States runs a surplus in services to the EU. In 2023, that surplus totalled 109 billion euros ($120 billion).
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