Europe has βa strong planβ for striking back at the United States in response to Donald Trumpβs tariff hikes βif necessary,β a top official said Tuesday on the eve of a long-anticipated announcement of massive import levies by the US president.
For weeks, Trump has promoted April 2 as βLiberation Dayβ in America, when a number of hefty tariffs will be unveiled to implement his administrationβs radical economic agenda. The United States has already announced a sharp increase in tariffs on all imports of steel, aluminum and cars.
βEurope has not started this confrontation,β Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Unionβs executive, said in a speech. βWe do not necessarily want to retaliate but, if it is necessary, we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it.β
On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would reveal his tariff plan in a press conference Wednesday. She did not provide any details about what he would announce but suggested, as Trump has said repeatedly, that the president could unveil reciprocal tariffs, matching other countriesβ tariffs dollar for dollar.
In her speech, von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said Europe was βopen to negotiations.β
βWe will approach these negotiations from a position of strength. Europe holds a lot of cards, from trade to technology to the size of our market,β she continued. βBut this strength is also built on our readiness to take firm countermeasures if necessary. All instruments are on the table.β
Europe has a "strong plan" for striking back at the US in response to Trump's tariff hikes "if necessary," top EU official sayshttps://t.co/wRvsKeXKoF
— CNN (@CNN) April 1, 2025
