Beijing will be the main beneficiary of a tariff stand-off between Washington and Brussels, the bloc’s foreign policy chief has warned
A trade war between the US and EU would be detrimental to both sides, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has warned, suggesting that only China would ultimately benefit from such an outcome.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused the EU of unfair trade practices. After announcing sweeping tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China last week, he indicated on Sunday that the same will “definitely happen with the EU,” claiming that the bloc has “really taken advantage” of the US.
Speaking ahead of an informal gathering of EU leaders in Brussels on Monday, Kallas responded to Trump’s warnings by stating that a trade war would not be beneficial to either side.
“There are no winners in trade wars,” Kallas stressed, pointing out that the US and the EU are “very interlinked” and need each other. She warned that imposing tariffs would increase costs, which would not be good for the people. “If the United States starts the trade war, then the one laughing on the side is China,” she added.
Other European leaders have echoed Kallas’ concerns. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for diplomatic engagement, stating that while the EU could “react to tariff policies,” cooperation should be prioritized.
French officials have also warned that escalating tariffs could lead to a cycle of retaliatory measures. French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau stated that “everybody loses in this kind of protectionist trade war.”
Trump has pointed out that the EU consistently exports significantly more goods to the US than it imports. “They don’t take our cars, they don’t take our farm products. They take almost nothing and we take everything from them,” he said. He acknowledged that there will be “some pain” for Americans if tariffs are imposed, but stressed that it would all be “worth the price.”
Following Trump’s inauguration last month, a number of EU leaders, such as Germany’s Scholz and France’s Emmanuel Macron called on the bloc to unite in the face of the Republican’s return to office, expressing concern about his “America First” approach to foreign policy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that EU officials will nevertheless soon “stand at the master’s feet and gently wag their tails,” claiming that they had previously spent years “happily” carrying out any orders from Washington under the administration of former President Joe Biden and would soon fall into line.
