The European Union will respond to any U.S. move to raise tariffs on
cars made in the bloc, a senior European Commission official said, the
latest comments in an escalating trade row.
U.S. President Donald Trump
on Friday threatened to impose a 20 percent tariff on all imports of
EU-assembled cars, a month after his administration launched an
investigation into whether auto imports posed a national security
threat.
“If they decide to raise their import tariffs,
we’ll have no choice, again, but to react,” EU Commission Vice President
Jyrki Katainen told French newspaper Le Monde.
“We don’t
want to fight (over trade) in public via Twitter. We should end the
escalation,” he said in the comments published on Saturday.
Trump
told carmakers at a meeting in the White House on May 11 that he was
planning to impose tariffs of 20 or 25 percent on some imported vehicles
and sharply criticized Germany’s automotive trade surplus with the
United States.
Note EU-Digest: Come on EU Commission, take your
gloves off, and hit Trump where it hurts: medical equipment and
supplies, weapons industry, NATO.
Read more: EU to respond to any U.S. auto tariff move: report | Reuters