EU lays out possible response to Trump’s tariffs

The European Union may respond to President Donald Trump’s newly imposed 20% tariffs on EU goods by regulating how American tech giants handle data, France’s Finance Minister Eric Lombard said in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) published late Saturday. 

“We have several tools at our disposal at the European level: regulatory, fiscal, customs,” Lombard told the newspaper. “For example, we can strengthen certain environmental requirements or regulate the use of data by certain digital players.”

Trump announced the tariffs on April 2, aiming to shake up the global trading system. In response, the EU—America’s largest trading partner—warned it would retaliate with its own countermeasures, including possible taxes on certain US services and targeting American tech firms. 

Lombard said the European response should “inevitably” have “consequences” for both European and American businesses, but he emphasized that Brussels does not plan to punish all imports. “It is not a question of taxing all American imports, that would be counterproductive, penalizing our economy as much as theirs,” he said.

Instead, the minister explained, the EU will carefully “target certain industrial segments, in a precise manner,” while keeping the door open for negotiations that could lead to the tariffs being lifted. He noted that if the two sides strike a balanced agreement “within a reasonable time frame,” it would boost confidence among French companies and households. 

EU rules already regulate data usage through mechanisms like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and Lombard did not elaborate on how any new rules might look. Still, he underlined that all fiscal and regulatory avenues remain under discussion.

Musk wants the US and EU to consider a zero-tariff arrangement

Meanwhile, entrepreneur Elon Musk expressed hope that Washington and Brussels can forge a “zero-tariff” arrangement. 

Speaking on Saturday via video link to Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini at a League party event in Florence, Musk said, “Both Europe and the United States should move, ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free-trade zone between Europe and North America.”

His remarks came after global markets reacted to Trump’s trade measures. Musk, who has served as a key adviser to the president since January and was a major donor during the campaign, voiced a contrasting stance. 

He suggested a deeper partnership between the US and Europe, plus greater mobility for workers. “That’s certainly been my advice to the president,” he said, without clarifying whether the guidance focused on tariffs, freedom of movement, or both.

Lombard concluded that the EU is keeping fiscal, customs, and regulatory measures on the table if the US fails to roll back the tariffs. But he also expressed optimism about reaching a solution through dialogue, adding that a fair deal built on trust could head off a larger trade conflict.

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