EU ‘prepared’ to retaliate against Trump’s 20 percent tariffs – POLITICO

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday slammed U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of a 20 percent tariff on EU goods and vowed to retaliate, saying the bloc was "prepared to respond."

Trump dumped the European Union on Wednesday into a group of 60 countries subject to higher “reciprocal” tariffs, along with China, India, Japan and Korea, while subjecting the rest of the world to 10 percent tariffs. It’s the biggest lurch into protectionism by America since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Von der Leyen said Trump’s tariffs would have dire consequences for consumers and businesses that have prospered through trade with the United States since World War Two. The European Union, the world’s largest single market, must also defend itself against profound disruptions to global commerce that would result from Trump’s isolation of the United States.