‘China will be laughing’: E.U. Foreign Minister on prospect of U.S.-E.U. trade war

EU official warns of potential US-EU trade war, stating China would benefit, emphasizing detrimental impact on consumers and job market.

Reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks on Sunday evening that tariffs against the E.U. were “definitely” on the cards, the E.U.’s top foreign affairs and security official, Kaja Kallas, said China would stand to benefit from any U.S.-E.U. trade war. Ms Kallas was speaking to a group of reporters on Monday morning, prior to addressing a conference of EU Ambassadors in Brussels.

“If United States start the trade war [sic] , then the one laughing on the side is China. We are very interlinked. We need America, and America needs us as well,” she said, adding that tariffs increased costs and were detrimental for consumers as well as for the job market.

Mr Trump had announced tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico on Saturday. Asked by a reporter about which country would be next to face U.S. tariffs, and specifically about the U.K., Mr Trump shifted the focus of his response to the E.U., saying the bloc would “definitely” face tariffs.

“It might happen with that (the U.K.), but it will definitely happen with the European Union,” Mr Trump said, claiming that the E.U. ran a trade surplus of over 4300 bn with the U.S.

Mr Trump’s numbers are at odds with E.U. official data. The bloc had a €155.8 bn ($159.9 bn) trade surplus in goods with the U.S in 2023 as per these data. It ran a trade deficit in services of €104 bn.

Mr Trump. on Sunday, named automobiles and farm products as particular industries of concern, calling the E.U.’s trade position an “atrocity” and alleging that the bloc was “taking advantage” of the U.S.

On the U.K. he said it was “out of line”. “I think that one can be worked out,” he added.