By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The European Union would prefer to reach a negotiated solution with the United States over trade but will respond with countermeasures if discussions do not lead to a solution, European Union Commissioner for the Economy Valdis Dombrovskis said in Washington on Wednesday.
He said the EU had already offered to buy more U.S. LNG and to reduce tariffs on certain goods, and added that Brussels would welcome more clarity from Washington about its expectations. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the world earlier this month.
“Our first preference is clearly to come to the negotiated solution with the U.S.,” Dombrovskis told an event hosted by the Atlantic Council on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings.
“But at the same time, we have also fully indicated that if negotiations are not coming to solutions, we have also agreed to come with counter-tariffs.”
Dombrovskis denied there was any linkage between trade issues and Wednesday’s announcement of EU fines against U.S. tech firms Meta and Apple , defending the move as necessary to enforce EU laws.
He also said the EU was braced to respond to any dumping by China of goods now that U.S. markets were drying up for Beijing.
Dombrovskis said the EU would revise its economic outlook next week, but initial estimates indicated that the Trump tariffs would shave 0.2 percentage point off the EU’s GDP this year and next, without further escalations.
The EU is not giving up on its trade relationship with the United States but will also seal new partnerships worldwide to strengthen economic security, Dombrovskis said.
The 27-nation bloc already has trade agreements in place with 76 countries and recently concluded talks for new or enhanced partnerships with Mexico, Switzerland and four South American countries. It is continuing negotiations with India, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia and has launched talks with the United Arab Emirates, he said.
On April 10, the EU put its first countermeasures against Trump’s tariffs on hold for 90 days, but said that all options remain on the table.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Makini Brice and Nia Williams)
