The European Commission has described the trade policy proposed by US President Donald Trump as "a step in the wrong direction", the institution said.
The statement confirms that the European Union remains committed to an open and predictable global trading system that benefits all partners.
"The EU maintains some of the lowest tariffs in the world and sees no justification for increasing US tariffs on its exports. Tariffs are taxes. By imposing tariffs, the US taxes its citizens, raises the costs of doing business, stifles growth and fuels inflation. Tariffs increase economic uncertainty and disrupt the efficiency and integration of global markets," the European Commission stated.
Trump on Thursday unveiled a roadmap for imposing reciprocal tariffs on every country that has tariffs on imports from the US and said he would like to see Russia returned to the G7 - the group of seven industrialized nations.
The White House says the reciprocal tariffs will strengthen the economic and national security of the United States.
However, a statement from the Brussels executive stressed that world trade had "flourished" under predictable, transparent rules and low tariffs, and that for decades the EU had worked with trading partners like the US to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers around the world, reinforcing this openness with binding commitments in a rules-based trading system - "commitments that the US is now undermining".
"The EU will react firmly and immediately to unjustified barriers to free and fair trade, including when tariffs are used to challenge lawful and non-discriminatory policies. The EU will always protect European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified tariff measures," the statement said.
It adds that the EU is progressing as one of the world's most open economies, with more than 70 percent of imports entering at zero tariff.
The EU's average applied tariff on imported goods remains among the lowest in the world.
Economic integration and the removal of trade barriers were fundamental to the success of the European Union.
The European Commission states that it believes in trade partnerships that are mutually beneficial and balanced, based on transparency and fairness.
As a result, the EU has the largest and fastest growing network of trade agreements in the world, according to the statement. The EU has negotiated and concluded three times as many trade agreements as the United States.
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