European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen holds a joint press conference with Antonio Costa at the end of the European Council Summit in Brussels, Belgium, on March 20, 2025.
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The European Union is preparing measures to counter the latest tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump, if negotiations with the White House fail, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday.
Trump imposed 20% levies on the bloc on Wednesday as he signed a sweeping and aggressive “reciprocal tariff” policy. Over 180 countries and territories are subject to these new duties, a list published by Trump and the White House showed.
In a livestreamed broadcast in the early hours of Thursday, EU chief von der Leyen suggested the bloc was ready to retaliate to the U.S. steps against it.
“We are prepared to respond,” she said. “We are now preparing for further countermeasures, to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail.”
Calling for negotiations, von der Leyen said that the EU would work towards reducing barriers, not raising them.
“It is not too late to address concerns through negotiations,” she said. “Let’s move from confrontation to negotiation.”
‘Immense consequences’
Von der Leyen slammed Trump’s move, saying that it was a “major blow” to the world economy and that it would “massively suffer.”
“There seems to be no order in the disorder, no clear path to the complexity and chaos that is being created as all U.S. trading partners are hit,” von der Leyen said.
She also warned of “immense consequences,” saying the effect would be felt immediately and that consumers around the world as well as businesses would be negatively impacted.
“Uncertainty will spiral and trigger the rise of further protectionism. The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe, also for the most vulnerable countries, which are now subject to some of the highest U.S. tariffs.”
The EU would work to support impacted sectors, including the steel, autos, pharma and other industries, von der Leyen noted.
The EU chief said that she agreed with Trump that some countries were taking unfair advantage of the current rules in world trade and the EU was ready to support efforts to make the global trading system “fit for the realities of the global economy.”
However, she also warned the U.S. ‘reaching for tariffs as your first and last tool will not fix it.”
EU countermeasures so far
Von der Leyen on Thursday said that any fresh countermeasures against the U.S. would expand on those already in the works by the EU.
The bloc had already announced retaliatory tariffs last month after the U.S. imposed tariffs on , saying the measures aimed to protect European workers and consumers. The EU at the time said it would introduce counter-tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28 billion) worth of U.S. goods.
Previously suspended duties — which were at least partially in place during Trump’s first term as president — are set to be re-introduced alongside a slew of additional duties on further goods.
Industrial-grade steel and aluminum, other steel and aluminum semi-finished and finished products, along with their derivative commercial products, such as machinery parts and knitting needles were set to be included. A range of other products such as bourbon, agricultural products, leather goods, home appliances and more were also on the EU’s list.
Following a postponement, these tariffs are expected to come into effect around the middle of April.
Read More: European Union vows countermeasures to Trump tariffs if talks fail, von der Leyen says