After United States (US) President Donald Trump threatened additional tariffs on European countries that most oppose his encroachment on Greenland, a decisive and self-confident response is emerging in Brussels, but there is still hope that Trump will change his mind under pressure from American lawmakers, writes the Table.media portal.
The Berlin portal writes that the eight European countries that Trump threatened with tariffs adopted a declaration in which they warned Trump, with "unusually harsh subtext," not to carry out his threats "because they undermine transatlantic relations and carry the risk of escalation."
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The declaration was adopted by eight countries that Trump threatened with tariffs - Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
According to information from Table.media, there are three levers through which Europe plans to respond to Trump's challenge. "First, it is certain that the European Parliament will postpone the planned adoption of the customs agreement that the European Union reached with the US until Wednesday," the portal writes.
Secondly, Brussels is reminding Washington through various channels that an important decision is coming up on February 6th, which, it is said, could hit the US hard.
The EU suspended tariffs on US goods for six months in August last year, in response to Trump's previous imposition of punitive tariffs and as part of a customs agreement. The total value of the suspended tariffs is more than 90 billion euros.
The suspension expires on February 6, and if it is not extended, tariffs on goods from the US will automatically come into effect again, "which Washington wanted to avoid," the portal writes.
And finally, EU members have begun to consider implementing the Instrument for Protection against Economic Coercion by Third Countries, in this case the USA.
The instrument, among other things, provides for a halt to issuing licenses to American companies, limiting the scope of their investments in Europe, restricting the export of European goods to the US, new tariffs and a digital tax for American technology companies, the portal writes.
According to Table.media, circles close to the government in Berlin have said that they should be very decisive, but not overdo it, as there is still hope that resistance from politicians in the US could thwart Trump's plans.
The fact that Europe has long hesitated to enter into a confrontation with the American president and his illegal actions can, the portal writes, be explained by the old continent's dependence on the US in many areas.
Europe is not only militarily dependent on the US, but also in international payments, important digital services, technology, and even intelligence cooperation, all of which gives the US significant potential for blackmail.
If we take the military as an example, the US defense budget is $997 billion, and the total EU defense budget is $356 billion. The US has 263 active military satellites, Europe 44, and the ratio of nuclear warheads is 3.700 to 515 (French and English), the portal writes.
Now the EU has received support from the business community to be united and decisive. Moric Šularik, president of the Institute for Global Economics in Kiel, said that Europe "must act united and must not allow itself to be blackmailed" and that any concession would be the wrong path.
The president of the German Chamber of Commerce, Volker Trayer, said that Trump is unacceptably linking political goals with economic pressure and that Europe must act unitedly and must not allow divisions.
The portal writes that Trump's policy could encounter an obstacle this week not only in the US Congress, but also before the Supreme Court, which could announce its decision as early as tomorrow on the constitutionality of the punitive tariffs that Trump has imposed on numerous countries around the world, as well as the manner in which he did so.
If the highest American court were to rule that this was illegal, Trump would have trouble implementing the new tariffs he is threatening Europe, writes Table.media.
World agencies reported earlier that the European Union plans to hold an extraordinary summit dedicated to Greenland and the latest dispute with the US administration by the end of this week, with the most likely date being Thursday, January 22nd.
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