The European Commission has fired a warning shot over US President Donald Trump's veiled threat of a trade war, saying it will react "swiftly and appropriately" to any change in trade measures.
During an interview with ITV's Piers Morgan last night, Trump said he'd had "a lot of problems with the European Union, and it may morph into something from that standpoint, from a trade standpoint".
He added: "We cannot get our products in. It's very, very tough. And yet they send their products to us – no taxes, very little taxes. It's very unfair…. and I think it will turn out to be very much to their detriment."
But this morning a European Commission spokesperson hit back, warning that “restrictive trade measures from the United States” would face a robust response.
“For us, trade policy is not a zero-sum game, it is not about winners and losers,” he said. “We here in the European Union believe that trade can and should be win-win.
“We also believe that while trade has to be open and fair it has also to be rules-based.
“The European Union stands ready to react swiftly and appropriately in case our exports are affected by any restrictive trade measures from the United States.”
When asked what that might entail, the spokesman preferred to leave the threat veiled. "I think that my last point is best understood if I don’t elaborate any further," he said.
Last week, the International Trade Commission ruled unanimously against Trump's plan to impose a 292 per cent tariff on Bombardier, after rival Boeing claimed it had engaged in anti-competitive practices over its new C series planes.
The US has made it clear that it would like the UK to relax certain standards to boost trade between the two countries, with commerce secretary Wilbur Ross telling business leaders in London to ditch the EU's "protectionist" policies after Brexit.
[contf] [contfnew] 
CityAM
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
