Whining is not an idea, thinks Ulf Kristersson. Now it's about acting instead. In the best case, the message from USA's President Donald Trump last night is actually a start to negotiations.
In that case, we should do everything we can to negotiate down all kinds of tariffs. The best would be a free trade agreement between the EU and the USA. It's the USA that hasn't wanted it before. In the worst case, this is the beginning of something that many will call a trade war, he says to TT.
In that case, it will have immediate consequences. It's good that Europe negotiates jointly, he believes.
The EU has significant muscles. Some say that the EU is not a strong geopolitical actor. That can be discussed, but the EU is a very strong trade actor – 450 million consumers and countless companies.
At the same time, he admits that Sweden is vulnerable, as a small open economy that trades a lot with other countries.
It's risky for the Swedish economy.
He shares the view that the tariffs can be inflationary, that it's more about "Inflation day" than "Liberation day", as Trump calls it.
Here, price increases will start that will hit individual households and consumers, not least in the USA.
Kristersson doesn't believe that the USA's protectionist actions will pay off.
I also think that the USA should have learned by now, not least in the technology sectors, that they benefit from being able to work globally.
