The tariff crisis Trump's tariff policy

Spokesperson: Retaliatory tariffs on the table if the US breaks the agreement

Retaliatory tariffs are an option if the US backs down from the 10 percent tariff agreement signed with the UK last year. This is what a spokesperson for Keir Starmer told the Financial Times after Donald Trump over the weekend raised US global tariffs to 15 percent.

- Nothing is out of the question at this stage, says the spokesperson, who adds that they still prefer "constructive discussions".

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CBS over the weekend that the US stands by trade agreements concluded with countries such as the UK despite the proposed new global tariff.

EU: Trump's new tariffs could violate the trade agreement

The EU assesses that Donald Trump's new tariffs risk violating last year's trade agreement between the EU and the US, according to Bloomberg.

The global tariffs of up to 15 percent are expected to be added to existing tariffs, which could mean that some goods will be subject to a higher tariff than the 15 percent cap agreed by the parties in 2025, says Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament's trade committee.

Both sides have signaled that they want to stick to the agreement, but it is still unclear how it will work and for what timeframe, sources tell the news agency.

Analysis: EU saved from a "historic mistake"

Although the tariff level of 15 percent looks set to remain, the US Supreme Court's ruling has completely changed the playing field on the trade issue. This writes Bloomberg's Lionel Laurent.

He believes that the new tariffs against the outside world are less extensive, more temporary and involve bureaucratic obstacles in the form of approval from Congress. Now the EU has made one of two important moves, namely to stop the implementation of last year’s agreement, he writes.

“Second, Europeans should seize the opportunity to ensure that the White House stops what is described as shameless bullying of the $1 trillion transatlantic trade deal,” he writes, citing Greenland as one of several examples.

Former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland agrees that this is a rare opportunity to right a wrong. In an article in the Financial Times, she writes that Trump was right on the merits and that the global economy was unbalanced, especially when it came to China’s large share of world production.

But the mistake was that Europe chose concessions instead of resistance.

“Weakness is a provocation. Concessions from US allies did not calm Trump. It encouraged him to go further, from tariffs to territory,” she writes, arguing that Europe should now rally around a common line against Chinese overcapacity.