British media: The EU is preparing to impose retaliatory tariffs to secure a better trade deal with Trump

According to a report by the Financial Times, ahead of the upcoming negotiation deadline, a senior official warned that if the EU wants to reach a good agreement, it must issue a "credible threat" of retaliation in the trade war initiated by Trump. Two EU officials said that the chief of staff of the President of the European Commission, Seibert, told EU ambassadors after the G7 summit last week that the prospect of a strong response would help persuade the US President to lower the high tariffs imposed on the EU. German Chancellor Merz also hinted that his government would support stronger measures. He said on Tuesday: "If no agreement is reached, we are prepared to use all options. We can and will defend our interests." Seibert told the ambassadors that European Commission President von der Leyen is prepared to escalate negotiations to secure a better deal. He asked for their support for a package of tariffs on 95.00 billion euros worth of US goods, and said that the European Commission is also preparing measures targeting the service industry—including taxes on US tech companies and restrictions on US companies accessing public procurement contracts. One of the officials said that the message conveyed was, "We need to leverage credible rebalancing options." (Golden Ten) [Odaily Planet Daily]