European officials urge calm after Trump’s threat

European officials have tried to show calm, after the US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 50% customs tariffs for imports from the Community bloc, an announcement that led to the collapse of scholarships on both banks of the Atlantic, against the background of concerns that a commercial war will disrupt the world,

A few hours before a scheduled meeting between negotiators in Washington and Brussels, about the next steps, Trump has criticized the European Union because ‘it is very difficult to negotiate with it’ and that ‘our discussions with them are nowhere’.

« In these circumstances, I recommend the imposition of 50% customs duties against the EU, starting June 1, » Trump wrote on the Social Truth social network.

In reply, European officials have tried to show restraint and decision to continue discussions, several of them using the word ‘calm’ to describe why the community block needs, which are facing the possibility of disturbing commercial ties with its most important commercial partner.

‘All this is part of the negotiation process. We will calmly look at proposals and respond robust and firmly, « said Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris said that negotiations remain the main concern of the EU and Ireland. « We need a substantial, calm, calmed and comprehensive dialogue with the US, » Harris said.

The French Minister of Commerce, Laurent Saint-Martin, also wrote in an X post that ‘we keep the same line: de-escalation, but we are ready to answer’.

Simone Tagliapietra, Senior Fellow at the Bruegel Reflection Center, has qualified Trump’s ad as ‘a cold shower for Brussels, even though there is still the hope that this is a new negotiation tactic intended to put pressure on the negotiations’.

Brad Setser, a former official at the American Treasury, and now works at the Council on Foreign Relations, says that the next EU move could be to react if Trump puts his threat into practice.

The EU has prepared tariffs for American goods worth 21 billion euros, in response to Trump’s rates, but suspended their implementation until mid -July. The implementation may be accelerated, in the event of negotiation failure. Also, the Community block is preparing other tariffs worth 95 billion euros in a list of American products, in the event of negotiation failure. Those measures will target industrial goods, including Boeing aircraft, US and Bourbon cars.