Europe ready to respond ‘in a proportionate way’ as Trump touts tariffs, top EU official says

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Europe ready to respond ‘in a proportionate way’ as Trump touts tariffs, top EU official says

Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Euro & Social Dialogue, photographed at the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel in Wan Chai. 02DEC17 SCMP/ Xiaomei Chen (Photo by Chen Xiaomei/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)

South China Morning Post | South China Morning Post | Getty Images

Europe will respond to any tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in a proportionate way, the European Union’s commissioner for the economy told CNBC Wednesday.

“If there is a need to defend our economic interests we will respond in a proportionate way,” Valdis Dombrovskis told CNBC Wednesday.

“We’re ready to defend our values and also our interests and rights if that becomes necessary,” he added, speaking to CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Since his inauguration on Monday, Trump has repeated his threat to impose tariffs on EU goods entering the States, telling reporters that the EU was “very, very bad to us. So they’re going to be in for tariffs. It’s the only way … you’re going to get fairness.”

He also said his administration was discussing imposing an additional 10% tariff on goods imported from China, starting in February.

Dombrovskis said the U.S. and Europe were strategic allies and it was important for them to work together, both geopolitically and economically. He said European officials were talking to their U.S. counterparts to find a “pragmatic” solution to the discussion of tariffs.

This is a developing story and will be updated shortly.

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