Brussels signals EU ready to respond to new US tariffs

BRUSSELS: The European Union has the tools to retaliate against the United States over its latest round of tariffs, France’s trade minister Nicolas Forissier told the Financial Times on Saturday.

Paris is in discussions with EU counterparts and the European Commission following US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a flat global tariff of 10 percent. The move came after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that many of the existing tariffs he had levied on trading partners were illegal, Forissier said.

“Should it become necessary, the EU has the appropriate instruments at its disposal,” Forissier told the Financial Times.

According to the newspaper, potential EU responses could include deploying the so-called “trade bazooka” — the bloc’s anti-coercion instrument (ACI) — which could target US technology companies. The ACI grants the EU a wide range of powers, from export controls and tariffs on services to excluding US firms from public procurement contracts.

The report added that a suspended package of retaliatory tariffs on more than 90 billion euros ($106 billion) worth of US goods could also be activated if required.