How to deal with tariff threats from US administration - extracts from the plenary debate

Описание: Parliament discusses the current state of EU-US trade relations, multilateralism and the EU’s potential responses to President Donald Trump's decision to impose 25% tariffs for all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, which will also affect EU exporters.

Since taking office in January, the American president has repeatedly threatened to target the EU with further tariffs in retaliation to his country's trade deficit in goods with Europe and what he considers as unfair treatment of US tech firms by Brussels. He also threatened to use tariffs to pressure Denmark into handing over Greenland.

Earlier this year, Trump had already announced tariffs on goods from Canada, China and Mexico.

The European Parliament is committed to multilateralism and has called for the urgent reform of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Leading MEPs recently said it is “imperative for the US and the EU to work closely together to defend multilateralism and the rules-based international order”.

Meanwhile, the EU has strengthened the tools at its disposal to protect EU trade, which now include the Anti-Coercion Instrument designed to enable the EU to respond, as a last resort, to economic blackmail from a foreign country.

According to the Commission, the EU has a €154 billion trade surplus in goods with the US, while the US maintains a €104 billion surplus in services with the EU, resulting in an overall EU trade surplus of three percent from a total €1.5 trillion trade flow. In 2023, the US was the largest partner for EU exports of goods and the second largest partner for EU imports of goods.