Business groups told CNBC that the EU should consider retaliatory measures in response to US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on the bloc.
There is an EU The EU-US has violated the trade agreement In response, Trump announced on Saturday plans to impose 10% tariffs on six EU countries, along with Britain and Norway, from February 1. There have been calls for the bloc to consider using its own countermeasures instrument (ACI), a set of measures that would allow it to impose wide-ranging trade sanctions.
“All of the EU’s trade defense instruments, including the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), must now be reviewed,” Volker Treier, director general for foreign trade at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), which represents about 4 million businesses, told CNBC. He added that ACI should be a “last resort”.
As Europe continues to work on de-escalation, “we must be ready to act boldly if our interests are threatened,” Ole Erik Almlid, CEO of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, which has thousands of business representatives, told CNBC.
“Europe must not even allow itself to be blackmailed by the United States,” Bertram Kawlat, president of the VDMA, the association of the German industrial sector, which represents 3,500 engineering companies, said in a statement on Sunday.
“Greenland is part of Europe and should remain so. If the EU acquiesces here, it will prompt the American president to make the next ridiculous demand and threaten further tariffs,” he said, adding that the European Commission should investigate whether ACI can be used.
Economic impact
If tariffs are imposed on February 1, as Trump has previously threatened, the impact on European businesses could be significant, business leaders have warned.
Analysis by the British Chamber of Commerce showed that 10% tariffs on US exports could cost UK businesses £6bn, rising to £15bn, or $20bn, in June – when Trump said tariffs would rise to 25% if countries continue to oppose his Greenland plans.
“The UK is not without influence, our two-way trade with the US is £300bn, we have £500bn of investment in its economy and it has added £700bn to our economy,” said BCC CEO Shevaun Haviland. “There is a high level of dependence. The government should keep everything on the table during negotiations.”
Deutsche Bank experts on Monday European countries Large holdings in US assets prefer it because it weighs countermeasures.
But the new U.S. tariffs will lead to further “significant” reductions in trade and transatlantic business for German companies, Treier told CNBC.
The European engineering and plant engineering industries were disproportionately affected by the U.S. tariffs, as most products are subject to 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum, Kaulat said.
“Added to this are high bureaucratic costs that hamper many transactions,” he added. “More than half of all machinery exported could be affected.”