Europe is ready to respond ‘in a proportionate way’ as Trump touts tariffs, senior EU official says
Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission for the Euro and Social Dialogue, photographed at the Renaissance Harbor View Hotel in Wan Chai. 02 DEC17 SCMP/ Xiaomei Chen (photo by Chen Xiaomei/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)
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Europe will respond to any tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump in a proportionate manner, the European Union’s economy 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 on Wednesday.
“We stand ready to defend our values as well as our interests and rights if it becomes 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 United States, telling reporters that the EU is “very, very bad to us. So they’re going to face tariffs. It’s the only way … you will get justice.”
He also said his administration is discussing introducing an additional one 10% customs duty on goods imported from China, starting in February.
Dombrovskis said that the US and Europe are strategic allies and that it is important that they work together, both geopolitically and economically. He said European officials were talking to their American counterparts to find a “pragmatic” solution to the tariff debate.
This is a developing story and will be updated soon.
