EU ministers to meet to consider response to Donald Trump’s tariffs – Europe live | World news
Morning opening: Forget markets for a second
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump have signaled no intention to back down on his tariffs policy over the weekend, as he urged reporters to “forget markets for a second” and insisted “we have all the advantages.”
“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he said amid continuing slumps on global markets.
This morning, EU ministers will meet in Luxembourg to consider the EU’s response and hear the unfiltered version of EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič’s meetings with US counterparts late last week.
On social media, he said that he told US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and US trade representative Jamieson Gree that Trump’s tariffs were “damaging” and “unjustified.”
Today he will probably ministers not only on what he thinks of them, but also on what the bloc could do in response as there are first signs of internal divisions within the EU.
Italy and Spain are understood to be among the more cautious countries willing to avoid a further escalation, while France’s Emmanuel Macron leads the more hawkish group, after he appeared to call for suspending French investments in the US as part of the reaction.
I will bring you all the latest political reaction from across Europe, as we also monitor the latest on Ukraine, Le Pen and France, and other stories from the continent.
It’s Monday, 7 April 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
Spain to push for EU aid for industries hit by tariffs, minister says
Spanish economy minister Carlos Cuerpo said he would push the European Union to approve aid for industries hit by US tariffs.
Cuerpo also said on Monday the EU ministers will discuss a list of products to be submitted to retaliatory tariffs in response to the ones on steel, aluminium and cars, Reuters reported.
Cuerpo’s comments follow a speech by Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez last week in which he promised a financial package of loans and direct aid worth €14.1 bn, comparing the crisis response to that during the Covid-19 pandemic.
We need 'calm, measured response', Ireland's minister says
EU ministers are expected to start arriving around 10am – I will bring you their doorstep reactions – but we are getting first lines from national leaders.
Ireland’s deputy prime minister and foreign, trade minister Simon Harris told Newstalk Radio that leaders agree on a need for a “calm, measured” response as he sought to play down the prospect of a retaliation on digital services that would be aimed at US big tech companies.
“My strong sense now is that the majority view by some distance is to take a calm, measured response and to try and get the US to the table,” he said.
Targeting digital services is “highly unlikely at this stage,” he said, Reuters reported.
Morning opening: Forget markets for a second
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump have signaled no intention to back down on his tariffs policy over the weekend, as he urged reporters to “forget markets for a second” and insisted “we have all the advantages.”
“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he said amid continuing slumps on global markets.
This morning, EU ministers will meet in Luxembourg to consider the EU’s response and hear the unfiltered version of EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič’s meetings with US counterparts late last week.
On social media, he said that he told US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and US trade representative Jamieson Gree that Trump’s tariffs were “damaging” and “unjustified.”
Today he will probably ministers not only on what he thinks of them, but also on what the bloc could do in response as there are first signs of internal divisions within the EU.
Italy and Spain are understood to be among the more cautious countries willing to avoid a further escalation, while France’s Emmanuel Macron leads the more hawkish group, after he appeared to call for suspending French investments in the US as part of the reaction.
I will bring you all the latest political reaction from across Europe, as we also monitor the latest on Ukraine, Le Pen and France, and other stories from the continent.
It’s Monday, 7 April 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
