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The European Union announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding to the Trump administration’s increase in tariffs on steel and aluminum.

“The EU wasn’t formed to screw anyone,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after President Donald Trump said the 27-nation bloc was out to get the United States.

The European Union is ready to discuss cutting tariffs on autos and other goods as it seeks to head off a trade war with the U.S., the bloc’s top trade official said Feb. 19 in Washington.

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic spoke with three top members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s incoming administration on how to find a solution to the brewing transatlantic trade dispute.

U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Feb. 11, adding that they will trigger tough countermeasures.

The European Union and Mexico agreed to a revamped free-trade agreement, just as both are under pressure from President-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened them with new tariffs.

Trump said on Truth Social that if the European Union does not up its imports, "it is TARIFFS all the way!!!" The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with the EU was $131.3 billion in 2022.

The EU is exploring potential areas for deeper cooperation with the U.S., such as increased liquefied natural gas imports and closer alignment on addressing China’s trade practices.

The EU’s favored approach would be to seek an agreement with Trump on some areas of common interest such as China, said one of the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Europe’s plan to effectively ban the sale of combustion engine cars from 2035 will lead to a “massive shrinking” of its automotive industry, according to BMW AG CEO Oliver Zipse.