During a meeting in Luxembourg, trade ministers from the 27 member states agreed to prioritize negotiations, as they also readied a retaliatory response.
European Union ministers on Monday broadly agreed that the bloc should prioritize negotiations to remove tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The 27-nation bloc is currently facing 25 percent import tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars, with “reciprocal” tariffs of 20 percent due to kick in from Wednesday for almost all other goods under Trump’s new policy of penalizing countries he says impose high barriers to U.S. imports.
Trade ministers met in Luxembourg on Monday to debate the EU’s response, as well as to discuss relations with China.
Many said the EU’s priority was to launch negotiations with the United States and avert an outright trade war.
Michał Baranowski, Polish undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of Poland, responsible for trade, said: “The EU deeply regrets the new U.S. tariffs and remains committed to dialogue, seeking a negotiated solution acceptable for both sides.
“Today’s Council shows the member states are united and determined to defend the interests of citizens and businesses alike.
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“We support the European Commission and our response will be guided by patience and firmness. All options remain on the table.”
Echoing Baranowski’s sentiments, Dutch Trade Minister Reinette Klever told reporters: “We need to remain calm and respond in a way that de-escalates.
“The stock markets right now show what will happen if we escalate straightaway. But we will be prepared to take countermeasures if needed to get the Americans at the table.”
EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic described his two-hour exchange with U.S. counterparts on Friday as “frank,” telling them the tariffs were “damaging, unjustified.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also told a press conference in Brussels that the EU stood ready to negotiate a “zero-for-zero” tariff pact for industrial goods.
The bloc is likely to approve this week an initial set of targeted countermeasures on up to $28 billion of U.S. imports ranging from dental floss to diamonds, in response to Washington’s steel and aluminum tariffs rather than the broader reciprocal levies.
However, Trump signaled a 200 percent counter-tariff on EU alcohol if the bloc goes ahead with an earmarked 50 percent duty on American whiskey, prompting concern from the major wine and spirit exporting nations of France and Italy.
The 27-nation bloc is expected to produce a larger package of countermeasures to U.S. reciprocal and car tariffs by the end of April.
However, Brussels has less to target than Washington, given U.S. goods imports into the EU totalled 334 billion euros ($366.2 billion) in 2024, against 532 billion euros ($580 billion) of EU exports.
French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said the bloc should leave nothing off the table, including the potential use of the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), which would allow it to target U.S. services or limit U.S. companies’ access to public procurement tenders in the EU.
“We cannot exclude any options on goods or services and, however we approach it, open the box to the European tool which is very comprehensive and which can be extremely aggressive,” he said.
Others, however, struck a more cautious tone.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris described the ACI as “very much the nuclear option“ and said he believed the majority view in the EU was not to go near it, at least for now.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, whose Green Party will not be involved in the next governing coalition in Berlin, said the EU should realize it is in a strong position—if it remains united.
But regarding countermeasures, he said, “If we have every (EU) country coming out saying they have a problem here with red wine and there with whiskey and here with pistachios, then we will end up with nothing.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
