EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said today that while she hoped Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s visit to the US on July 25 could ease trade tensions, the EU is prepared for retaliation. She said that “if the U.S. would impose these car tariffs that would be very unfortunate. We are preparing together with our member states a list of rebalancing measures there as well. And this we have made that clear to our American partners.” And she added that “it is done in the same way as with steel and aluminum.”
Also, regarding Juncker’s visit, she said it’s to “try to establish a good relations, try to see how we can de-escalate the situation, avoiding it going further and see if there is a forum where we can discuss these issues.” She added that “we don’t go there to negotiate anything.”
Juncker himself said he’s “upbeat and related” ahead of the trip to Washington. He also emphasized that “we will continue to react tit-for-tat to the provocations that might be thrown at us.” And, “when it comes to trade, the European Union, its internal market, its single market, form an indivisible unity and it’s the Commission that is in charge of articulating trade policy. All efforts to divide the European Union are in vain.”
