The European Union’s economy commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, told CNBC on Wednesday.
“If there is a need to defend our economic interests, we will react accordingly,” Valdis Dombrovskis told CNBC on Wednesday.
“We are ready to defend our values, but also our interests and our rights, if that becomes necessary,” he said, speaking to CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum
Trump’s threats of tariffs
During his inauguration on Monday as the 47th president of the USA, Donald Trump entering the USA, telling reporters that the EU has been “very, very bad for us. Therefore, they will be subject to tariffs. It is the only way … for there to be justice.”
He also said his government was discussing imposing an additional 10% duty on goods imported from China, starting in February.
Dobrovskis: We are discussing with the US about a realistic solution
Mr. Dombrovskis said that the US and Europe are strategic allies and it is important that they work together, both geopolitically and economically. He said European officials were talking to their US counterparts to find a “realistic” solution to the tariff debate.
Which European countries are threatened by Trump’s dams?
Germany, Italy and Ireland have the most to lose from a tough US trade policy under Donald Trump, as these countries run the largest trade surpluses with the world’s largest economy.
For 2023, Germany exported to America products with a value of 85.7 billion euros more than what it imported from the USA. This is a huge range of high added value exports, from mainly industrial products to special mechanical equipment and chemicals.
Italy had a trade surplus of nearly 42 billion euros from sales in machinery, fashion and accessories, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agricultural products and beverages. Ireland had a trade surplus of €29.4 billion mainly from exports to the US of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, medical equipment, machinery, perfumes and cosmetics. .
