European industries have hit back at US President Donald Trump’s “ludicrous demands” to hand over Greenland or face a trade war. The president of the German auto industry association, Hildegard Müller, warned that the costs of additional tariffs would be “enormous” for German and European industry, especially in these already challenging times.
Müller called for a “smart, strategic response from Brussels that is coordinated with the affected countries.” The German engineering trade group, whose members include vital tool machine exporters, urged the EU to stand firm against Trump, warning that giving in would only encourage further “ludicrous demands” and threats of additional tariffs.
The threat of a fresh round of tariffs on European exports has rattled markets, with stocks falling and precious metals like gold and silver hitting new highs. European leaders are expected to meet in Brussels on Thursday for an emergency summit to discuss the prospect of imposing counter-tariffs on US exports, which could target everything from liquid gas to aircraft and machinery.
Stephen Davies, the chief executive of the Welsh whisky maker Penderyn, which exports to 20 states in the US, said the tariffs would add more costs than could be absorbed. “It’s just not going to work,” he said, predicting that people would “disappear from the market and just hold fire until conditions get better.”
Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the Trade Union Congress, warned that Trump’s tariffs “threaten to take a wrecking ball to key British manufacturing sectors and jobs.” He urged the British government to prioritise a closer trading relationship with the EU, saying it was “common sense in an increasingly volatile and unpredictable global economy.”
With the threat of additional tariffs looming, manufacturers have been scrambling to get more products into the US before the levies take effect. However, one senior figure in the UK automotive industry said the short deadline meant there was limited time to rush cars into the US before the new tariffs.
As the transatlantic trade tensions continue to escalate, European industries are bracing for the potential fallout and calling for a coordinated, strategic response from the EU to counter Trump’s “ludicrous demands.”