European trade ministers meet to forge strategy after Trump's surprise
30% tariffs
[July 14, 2025] By
SAM McNEIL
BRUSSELS (AP) — European trade ministers are meeting in Brussels on
Monday, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement of
30% tariffs on the European Union.
The EU is America’s biggest business partner and the world’s largest
trading bloc. The U.S. decision will have repercussions for governments,
companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We shouldn’t impose countermeasures at this stage, but we should
prepare to be ready to use all the tools in the toolbox,” said Denmark’s
foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, told reporters ahead of the
meeting. “So we want a deal, but there’s an old saying: ’If you want
peace, you have to prepare for war.'”
The tariffs, also imposed on Mexico, are set to start on Aug. 1 and
could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to
German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the
U.S., and destabilize economies from Portugal to Norway.
Meanwhile, Brussels decided to suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods
scheduled to take effect Monday in hopes of reaching a trade deal with
the Trump administration by the end of the month.
The “countermeasures” by the EU, which negotiates trade deals on behalf
of its 27 member countries, will be delayed until Aug. 1.
Trump’s letter shows “that we have until the first of August” to
negotiate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told
reporters in Brussels on Sunday.
Maroš Šefčovič, the EU's trade representative in its talks with the
U.S., said negotiations would continue
“I’m absolutely 100% sure that a negotiated solution is much better than
the tension which we might have after the 1st of August," he told
reporters in Brussels on Monday.
“I cannot imagine walking away without genuine effort. Having said that,
the current uncertainty caused by unjustified tariffs cannot persist
indefinitely and therefore we must prepare for all outcomes, including,
if necessary, well-considered proportionate countermeasures to restore
the balance in our transit static relationship.”
The letters to the EU and Mexico come in the midst of an on-and-off
Trump threat to impose tariffs on countries and right an imbalance in
trade.
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The European Union flag stands inside the atrium at the European
Council building in Brussels, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana,
File)
 Trump imposed tariffs in April on
dozens of countries, before pausing them for 90 days to negotiate
individual deals. As the three-month grace period ended this week,
he began sending tariff letters to leaders, but again has pushed
back the implementation day for what he says will be just a few more
weeks.
If he moves forward with the tariffs, it could have ramifications
for nearly every aspect of the global economy.
In the wake of the new tariffs, European leaders largely closed
ranks, calling for unity but also a steady hand to not provoke
further acrimony.
Just last week, Europe was cautiously optimistic.
Officials told reporters on Friday they weren't expecting a letter
like the one sent Saturday and that a trade deal was to be inked in
“the coming days." For months, the EU has broadcast that it has
strong retaliatory measures ready if talks fail.
Reeling from successive rebukes from Washington, Šefčovič said
Monday the EU is “doubling down on efforts to open new markets” and
pointed to a new economic agreement with Indonesia as one.
The EU top brass will visit Beijing fora summit later this month
while courting other Pacific nations like South Korea, Japan,
Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia, whose prime
minister visited Brussels over the weekend to sign a new economic
partnership with the EU. It also has mega-deals in the works with
Mexico and a trading bloc of South American nations known as
Mercosur.
While meeting with Indonesia's president on Sunday, Von der Leyen
said that “when economic uncertainty meets geopolitical volatility,
partners like us must come closer together.”
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