The political scientist pointed to the EU's lack of political will to respond to the US duties.

The leaders of the European Union (EU) countries do not have sufficient political will and resources to respond to the duties imposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump. This was announced by German political scientist Eike Hamer to Izvestia on April 7.

"They don't have the slightest ability to do that. Why? Because the European market is not very important. The Chinese market is important. The Indian market is important. And the European market is not so important," Hamer said, answering the relevant question.

He stressed that the European market is experiencing a severe recession. According to him, the phenomenon is not caused by international circumstances, but by "socialist anti-freedom policies in the EU." In particular, he singled out Germany and France.

According to Hamer, European bureaucrats are busy "stealing taxpayers' money and redirecting it into their personal pockets."

"They are no longer partners for other people in the world. <...> Previously, when they wanted to negotiate something with the Europeans or the Germans, they had to ask Washington whether it was allowed or not. But Europe has made itself unimportant, as we would call it," the political scientist concluded.

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On April 2, Trump signed a decree imposing 25 percent import duties from April 3 for finished cars, and for auto parts no later than May 3. The American president justified this measure by the need to protect national security. Later, Bloomberg reported that the European Union was preparing a package of emergency measures to support the sectors of the economy that could be most affected by the imposition of duties by Washington.