European Union ready to impose retaliatory tariffs to secure better trade deal with Trump

On June 24th, according to the British Financial Times, ahead of the upcoming deadline for negotiations, a senior official warned that if the European Union wants to reach a good deal, it must issue a "credible threat" of retaliation in the trade war launched by Trump. Two European Union officials said Seibert, the chief of staff to the European Commission president, told European Union ambassadors last week after the G7 summit that the prospect of a strong response would help persuade the US president to lower the steep tariffs imposed on the European Union. German Chancellor Merz also hinted that his government would support tougher measures. "If there is no deal, we are ready to use all options," he said on Tuesday. We can and will defend our interests. "Mr. Seibert told ambassadors that von der Leyen, European Commission president, was ready to escalate talks for a better deal. He asked them to support a package of tariffs on €95 billion worth of US goods and said the European Commission was also preparing measures on services - including levies on US technology companies and restrictions on US companies' access to public procurement contracts. The message, one of the officials said, was that" we need leverage through a credible rebalancing package ".