EU commissioner warns of retaliation if Trump imposes tariffs on cars

The European Union’s trade commissioner said on Wednesday that the EU would respond if President Trump decides to slap tariffs on European cars.

“Then we will hit back, we can very quickly put together a long list of countermeasures that conform to World Trade Organization rules,” Cecilia Malmstrom told Germany’s Die Zeit weekly, according to Reuters, adding the list could include cars, farming products and machinery.

{mosads}The White House is currently embroiled in numerous trade wars, particularly with China and European nations. Trump has long lambasted what he views as unfair trade practices and has already slapped on tariffs on foreign imports and threatened to impose more.

“On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!” Trump tweeted Tuesday in the midst of a feud with French President Emmanuel Macron.

On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

Trump in May declared he would end the temporary exemption for the EU in his tariffs on steel and aluminum, from which he had initially excluded the EU, Canada and Mexico.

In June, he threatened a 20-percent tariff on all European cars entering the U.S.