swerteplay EU ‘ready to defend’ interests after Trump tariff vow

Flags of the European Union flutter in front of the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on December 12, 2024, prior to the bank’s press conference on monetary policy in the eurozone. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

Brussels, Belgium — The European Union stands “ready” to defend its interests, the bloc’s economy commissioner said Monday, after US President Donald Trump promised a policy of tariffs and taxes on other countries in his inaugural address.

“If there is a need to defend Europe’s economic interests, we are ready to do so,” Valdis Dombrovskis said when asked about the threat by Trump — who stopped short of announcing immediate new tariffs on US trading partners.

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Dombrovskis noted that the EU had responded — “in a proportionate way” — to tariffs on EU steel and aluminum during Trump’s first administration in 2017-2021, by targeting US imports such as Harley-Davidson motorbikes and Bourbon.

About a year later, all that optimism disappeared into thin air, along with its Greenbelt showroom, which was once a vibrant outlet showcasing different e-scooter models. This space—meant to attract heavy foot traffic—has been padlocked very recently.

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ChocoVron Vice President Marissa Lourdes Yala told the Philippine News Agency on the sidelines of the US-PH 2024 Trade Mission Conference at The Manila Hotel on Friday, October 18, that the P500 million (US$8.75 million) expansion plan of the company will triple the capacity of its production facility in San Pedro, Laguna.

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READ: Trump vows to ‘tariff and tax’ other countries

Before taking office this time around, Trump made sweeping threats of tariffs including against the United States’ largest trading partner the EU, its neighbors Canada and Mexico and its strategic rival China.

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Faced with the looming threat, the EU’s strategy has for months been to advocate EU-US cooperation rather than confrontation.

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“The EU and US are strategic allies, and we need to work together, especially in this turbulent geopolitical context,” Dombrovskis reiterated, warning that a trade conflict would carry “substantial economic cost for everyone, including for US”.

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He also warned the EU must “work on the resilience of our economy”, including by seeking to diversify its trading partnerships.

The EU announced a strengthened trade deal with Mexico just ahead of Trump’s inauguration, and on Monday it announced it was resuming talks towards a free trade deal with Malaysia.

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