The European Union backed off from triggering a trade ‘bazooka’ in retaliation for US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats over Greeland during an urgent meeting in Brussels on Sunday, people familiar with the talks told Euronews.
EU member states want to first prioritise dialogue and diplomacy with the US, and will in the meantime hold off from triggering any retaliatory measures, the sources said.
The EU could however revive a €93-billion retaliation package targeting US products if Trump follows through on his threat to slap an additional 10% tariff on eight European countries — including Denmark, Germany and France — on February 1, the sources added.
A decision on whether to reinstate the tariffs, suspended last year, will be taken after that deadline.
The €93-billion package was prepared amid uncertainty last year over whether Trump would agree to a EU-US trade deal, and foresees retaliatory EU tariffs of up to 30% on a range of US products from cars to poultry.
Meanwhile, European Council President António Costa has convened an extraordinary summit of EU leaders in the “coming days.” A source familiar with the matter suggested the summit will take place on Thursday, January 22.
This is a breaking news story and our reporters will update it with further details.
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