Brussels says it will use "all tools" to protect sectors like wine and cava from "unjustified" tariffs

Albert Cadanet/Brussels - The European Commission says it will use "all tools" at its disposal to protect sectors like wine and cava from "unjustified" tariffs, just a day after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs of up to 200% on European alcohol exports if the EU did not back down on tariffs on American whiskey. In a press conference held this Friday, the EU executive's Trade spokesman, Olof Gill, assured that the European Commission "will take all possible steps" to support sectors that may be affected by Trump's decisions and urged the United States to abandon a trade war "that benefits no one".

"When it is time to protect our economic sectors that are the subject of unjustified trade measures, we always take all possible steps to protect them; we have tools at our disposal if necessary", summarized Gill.

Despite the warnings issued by Brussels, the European Commission has reiterated that its will is for the United States to eliminate "immediately" the tariffs it has imposed on products such as steel or aluminum and to "refrain" from new announcements. "It doesn't benefit them, it doesn't benefit us, it doesn't benefit consumers or businesses; it doesn't benefit anyone," he summed up, insisting that both sides should cooperate so that transatlantic trade relations are maintained.

In any case, the European Commission has also recalled that, in the face of Trump's tariff decisions, the European Union will not back down. "If the United States insists on continuing on this counterproductive path, we will respond to protect our consumers, industry and to maintain a level playing field," Gill said, referring to the Union's counteroffensive in response to Trump's tariffs.

In this context, the European Commission's Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maros Sefcovic, will hold a video call meeting this Friday afternoon with the United States Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and the United States Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, to try to resolve the situation before the first tariffs announced by the EU come into force on April 1. Referring to the meeting, Gill sees it as "a positive step" and a sign that "the will to negotiate" still exists.