Scholz warned the U.S. of retaliation if it imposes duties on EU goods

US President Donald Trump should expect the European Union (EU) to impose retaliatory duties if it imposes tariffs on goods from the association. This was stated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to journalists after a campaign event in the German city of Schwerin on February 10.

"One thing is clear: we, as the European Union, will scrutinize this issue when it officially comes to us. And that is why now, when it has not yet become official, we can only talk about it with great caution but with complete clarity: anyone who imposes tariffs should expect retaliatory tariffs," he said. His response to journalists was published by the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

In addition, referring to Trump, Scholz emphasized that the US should send a clear message to Europe that the states continue to support Ukraine. According to him, Germany is not going to weaken it.

How high is the threat of a trade war between the US, EU and China. Parsing

On February 1, Trump signed an executive order imposing trade tariffs of 25% on goods from Canada, China and Mexico. With this decision, he seeks to prevent the importation of drugs across the border and hopes to reduce the flow of migrants arriving in the United States. At the same time he promised to impose duties on goods from the EU. At the same time, on February 4, after negotiations with the Canadian government, Trump postponed the introduction of tariffs on goods from the country for at least 30 days.

Also, the American president announced that on February 10 he would impose duties of 25% on imported steel and aluminum to the United States. Such duties will be imposed on the products of those countries that previously imposed retaliatory restrictions on American products.

Later, the head of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU intends to defend its interests in relations with Washington and will adhere to a firm retaliatory position in case of an unfair decision of the United States on duties on European goods. According to the head of the EC, the profit from trade between the U.S. and the EU is € 1.5 trillion and jobs both in the EU and in America depend on it. At the same time, she pointed out that the U.S. and the EU have not yet negotiated on duties, as there was no official signal from Washington to Brussels.

On February 4, 2025, American duties of 10% on imports from China came into force. In response, the PRC reported that from February 10, the country imposes duties of 15% on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States. It was noted that tariffs of 10% will be imposed on U.S. oil, multi-cylinder cars, pickup trucks and agricultural machinery.