EU prepares retaliatory tariffs to secure better trade deal with Trump

On June 24, before the upcoming negotiation deadline, a senior official warned that if the EU wants to reach a good agreement, it must issue a "credible threat" of retaliation in the trade war launched by Trump. Two EU officials said that Siebert, the chief of staff of the European Commission President, told EU ambassadors after the G7 summit last week that the prospect of a strong response would help persuade the US President to lower the high tariffs imposed on the EU. German Chancellor Merz also hinted that his government would support taking tougher measures. He stated on Tuesday: "If no agreement is reached, we are prepared to use various options. We can and will defend our interests." Siebert told the ambassadors that European Commission President von der Leyen is prepared to escalate negotiations to secure a better agreement. He asked them to support a package of tariffs on US goods worth 950 billion euros and said the European Commission is also preparing measures for the service sector - including taxing US tech companies and limiting US companies' access to public procurement contracts. One official said the message conveyed was, "We need to leverage through a credible rebalancing plan".