BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever called a U.S.-EU trade war following the announcement of U.S. import tariffs “wealth-destroying protectionist madness” during a parliament session on Thursday, and said “stupidity should not be met with stupidity”.
In a later interview with Belgian public broadcaster VRT, he added that while countermeasures are necessary, they should remain proportional.
Earlier on Thursday, the country’s foreign minister said Belgium’s economic growth will be hit by the U.S. import tariffs just at a time when Washington is demanding partners to step up defence spending.
“It will, one way or another, hit not only Belgian companies but also our citizens, partly due to a lesser economic growth… and that at a moment where the same United States demands an increase in defence spending,” Maxime Prevot said in a statement.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a 10% minimum tariff on most goods imported to the United States, with a higher 20% rate for the European Union, kicking into higher gear a global trade war that threatens to drive up inflation and stall U.S. and worldwide economic growth.
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Bart Meijer and Bill Berkrot)
