Irritation is clear among EU countries' trade ministers over President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs of up to 30 percent – if no solution is reached before August 1.
But there is also agreement not to back down.
–There is a broad consensus in the EU right now to enter into this with greater confidence and be able to stand firm if necessary, says Benjamin Dousa after meeting his EU colleagues in Brussels on Monday.
"Everyone wants to see a solution"
There, he himself presented a Swedish proposal to counterattack the US with the help of reduced tariffs for imports to the EU from other countries.
Continued negotiations with the US are still step one. At the same time, EU countries are open to increasing measures against more US products and also taking out the so-called "bazooka" where services can also be drawn into the trade conflict.
–From the government's side, all alternatives are on the table, which we can use, says Dousa.
–Everyone wants to see a solution already before the beginning of August, but if we don't get there, if the US doesn't sit down and have serious negotiations with us, then Europe is ready to respond in a tough and clear way, claims the trade minister.
Not critical of the EU
Dousa is not critical of how the EU Commission has handled the negotiations with the US.
From Europe's side, we have done everything we can to avoid this situation. We have handled this according to all the rules of the art. It is the US that has escalated in several steps now, he says.
The EU's Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic promises to do everything he can to avoid a crash.
We show enormous patience, enormous creativity to find a solution. But if it becomes 30 percent or more, then trade as we know it will not be able to continue, warns Sefcovic in Brussels.
Wiktor Nummelin/TT
Fact: Four steps forward
TT
Minister for Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa (The Moderate Party) wants to see a continuation in four steps for the trade conflict with the US:
1. Continued negotiations with the US, "the door should be open".
2. Prepare countermeasures in the form of EU tariffs on US products.
3. Coordinate with other countries that are also threatened by US tariffs, such as Canada, Japan, and South Korea.
4. Open new markets for European companies, for example through free trade agreements with India and the Mercosur countries in South America.
