European leaders warned on Monday that US President Donald Trump's threat to expand tariffs on the EU risks leading to a trade war that would cause economic damage on both sides of the Atlantic.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said that if the US and Europe start a trade war "then the one who will be laughing on the sidelines is China."
"We are very interconnected. We need America and America needs us too," she said, speaking before an informal meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels.
EU leaders met on Monday to discuss how to strengthen the continent's defenses against Russia and how to deal with the approach of President Trump, who has warned the 27 European Union countries that they are next in line after his decision to impose sweeping tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.
"That's definitely going to happen with the European Union. I can tell you they've really taken advantage of us," President Trump told reporters on Sunday, repeating complaints about a trade deficit.
"They don't buy our cars, they don't buy our agricultural products. They buy almost nothing and we buy everything from them."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke in a more cautious tone, urging the EU and the US to work together.
"It is clear that as a strong economic area we can shape our future and react to tariff policies... But the perspective and the goal must be that things lead to cooperation," he said.
Shares of European carmakers fell on Monday on concerns about the impact of tariffs.
In his complaints about the trade balance with the EU, President Trump has focused only on trade in goods.
The EU has consistently exported more goods to the United States than it has imported, and the trade deficit in goods in 2023 was 155.8 billion euros, according to Eurostat data.
However, in services, the US had a surplus of exports over imports with the European Union of €104 billion in 2023. VOA (A2 Televizion)
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