Germany: EU Must Act on US Tariffs

The European Union (EU) must be prepared to take “decisive” action against threatened US tariffs if a “fair” agreement isn’t reached with Washington, Germany’s finance minister, Lars Klingbeil, warned on Sunday.

Klingbeil told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that while “serious and solution-oriented negotiations” with the US are still essential, a failure to reach a deal would necessitate “decisive countermeasures to protect jobs and businesses in Europe.”

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose steep 30 per cent tariffs on products from the EU and Mexico starting August 1, citing the US’s trade imbalance with the bloc as justification for the new levies on Europe.

Klingbeil condemned the tariffs, stating they would create “only losers” and “threaten the American economy at least as much as businesses in Europe.”

He emphasised that “Europe remains determined and united: we want a fair deal.”

“Our hand remains outstretched, but we won’t accept just anything,” Klingbeil affirmed, adding that contingency measures must continue to be prepared in case a deal is not reached.