German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday slammed sweeping new U.S. tariffs as “fundamentally wrong” as Berlin warned that the European Union could retaliate by targeting American tech titans.
“This is an attack on a trade order that has created prosperity all over the globe, a trade order that is essentially the result of American efforts,” Scholz said, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled the wide-ranging duties on friends and foes alike.
Echoing comments by the EU chief, Scholz said “we are ready for talks with the American government” to find a solution but stressed that Europe would “respond decisively, strongly and appropriately” if negotiations fail.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck suggested that the bloc could go after American tech titans by hitting them with a tax, insisting that “everything is on the table” as the EU mulls its response.
“The big tech companies have an incredible dominance in Europe and are largely exempt from European taxes,” he told a press conference.
France earlier said the EU plans to “attack online services” in response to the tariffs.
Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, stands to be hit hard by the tariffs as the United States is its top export destination, and its companies ship huge quantities of goods, from cars to chemicals, to the world’s top economy.
Habeck warned that “U.S. tariff mania” could “drag countries into recession and cause massive harm worldwide. With dire consequences for many people.”
“For consumers in the U.S., the day will not be ‘Liberation Day’ but ‘Inflation Day,'” he said, referring to the term Trump used to describe the new duties.
Germany’s top business groups also lined up to denounce the new duties, which come on top of other recently announced U.S. tariffs.
The tariffs were “an unprecedented attack on the international world trade system, free trade and global supply chains”, said leading industry federation BDI.
“The justification for this protectionist escalation is not comprehensible,” said Wolfgang Niedermark, a member of the group’s executive board.
“It threatens our export-oriented companies and endangers prosperity, stability, jobs, innovation and investments worldwide.”
U.S. duties of 25 percent on imported cars also took effect Thursday, a huge blow for German titans like Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW, for whom the United States is a major export market.
Germany’s main auto industry group, the VDA, urged the EU to respond to the tariffs with “necessary force, while continuing to signal its willingness to negotiate”.
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