The European Union is readying for a major trade confrontation with the US.
A deal agreeing baseline tariffs of 10% had been expected, but US officials told the EU that President Donald Trump would demand more concessions.
Now Germany, previously conciliatory, is ready to back France’s more hawkish position and hit back with retaliatory tariffs on the US if no deal is agreed. The bloc may even deploy a never-before-used legal tool, known as an “anticoercion instrument,” aimed at combating economic bullying, The Wall Street Journal reported.
More than $5 billion in goods and services is traded between the US and EU every day — it is the world’s biggest trading relationship — and a prolonged fight could cost both sides heavily.
A chart showing US-EU goods trade.
