Donald Trump gives blunt one-word answer when asked if he plans to hit EU with tariffs

Wendy Cutleru.S. Trade Representative

We should expect all three countries to retaliate.”

Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator, warned

Am I going to impose tariffs on the European Union? You want the truthful answer or shall I give you a political answer? Absolutely. The European Union has treated us so terribly,

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday

Karoline Leavittwhite House press secretary

The president will be implementing tomorrow 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico, 25 per cent tariffs on Canada, and a 10 per cent tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl that they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans,

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said

No, no. Not right now, no.”

Asked if there was any opportunity for the three top US trading partners to delay the tariffs, Trump said

It’s something we’re doing, and we’ll possibly very substantially increase it, or not, we’ll see how it is,

Trump said

No, it’s not ... we have big [trade] deficits with, as you know, with all three of them,

he said

Donald Trumppresident

I think the President is going to implement those tariffs tomorrow, and he will respond to Mr. Trudeau comments in due time, I am sure,

she said, referencing an outgoing leader Trump has mocked as 'governor' while openly discussing acquiring Canada as the 51st U.S. state

So, my hope is on the European Parliament, the Commission, the European Council, to come together and to make sure that the legislative setting is in place so that we can actually either give the green light or say, no, too complicated, too risky, too costly, we dump it,

Lagarde said

What we need to do here in Europe is to be prepared and anticipate what will happen in order to respond,

Lagarde told CNBC

I don't care how I'm remembered. What I care about is getting the job done. We need inflation at 2%. I need to deliver price stability, so that the rest of the players can actually play their game at their best,

she said

These negotiations are bound to be difficult given the positions expressed by the American president, ... you can’t go into a negotiation making concessions up front.”

said French Industry and Energy Minister Marc Ferracci, but

And above all, I don’t think we should give in to Donald Trump’s demands as a matter of principle,

he told POLITICO

At this stage, ... our stance is to maintain that balance.”

he added

The question of becoming a bridge between the U.S. administration and the EU is relevant only if the U.S. administration is looking for such a bridge, which cannot be taken for granted,

said János Bóka, Hungary’s EU affairs minister

That would be a good deal for both sides,

he claimed

He’s clearly shown that he wants to do bilateral relations. This may be a negotiating tactic, as he knows he will have to deal with the EU on trade, but it’s potentially problematic.”

Commenting on Trump’s preference for engaging with national leaders rather than with the EU, one EU diplomat said

There is also room to expand our trade and investment ties with China,

Šefčovič added,

On the commercial area is of course the LNG purchases, where there is a very clear opportunity to increase imports while phasing out Russian gas,

the Slovak commissioner said, adding

We should also be ready to explore deeper EU-U.S. cooperation on economic security —an area where both the EU and the U.S want to progress, including on how to deal with the joint challenges coming from China’s non-market policies and practices,

Šefčovič told the European Parliament’s international trade committee

China is our third-biggest and most challenging trade partner. We need to rebalance this relationship between transparency, predictability and reciprocity. This means being more assertive in challenging China’s structural imbalances … and non-market practices driving overcapacity,

the EU trade chief said