By Maria Martinez
BERLIN (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten the American economy at least as much the European one, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Wednesday, calling for a “fair deal” with the Americans.
“Trump’s tariffs have only losers,” Klingbeil said.
The 30% tariff on European goods threatened by Trump would, if implemented, be a game-changer for Europe, wiping out whole chunks of transatlantic commerce and forcing a rethink of its export-led economic model.
“We are experiencing global trade conflicts, and we are firmly and jointly convinced that European sovereignty is all the more important in these times,” Klingbeil said in Berlin, speaking to the press with his French counterpart, Eric Lombard.
If a deal is not possible, decisive countermeasures are needed.
“To sum up: Our hand remains extended, but we will not go along with everything, possible countermeasures must continue to be prepared,” Klingbeil said.
“On this, France and Germany are in complete agreement.”
(Reporting by Maria Martinez, Editing by Miranda Murray)
