Metsola warns Trump: EU will react ‘firmly and immediately’ to unjustified tariffs

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has warned US President Donald Trump the EU will react “firmly and immediately” to unjustified barriers to free and fair trade.

She said this will happen in situations which include when tariffs are used to challenge legal and non-discriminatory policies.

“[The EU and the US] can find a way for us all to win. That is always preferable to everyone losing – when it would be only those on the axis of autocracies who benefit. That’s why I think we should be talking about trade agreements rather than tariffs. Pulling ourselves up together rather than the opposite,” she said in an address at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington.

The remark comes after Trump said 25% tariffs on the European Union (EU) will be announced soon. He also stated EU was created to “screw the United States”.

Metsola said the world relies on the strength of the transatlantic relationship which goes beyond shared trade, commerce and industry.

“People under pressure from autocrats look to us for support. People under attack for their beliefs and their views across the globe look to our flags as symbols of liberty. People under fire on the front line are fighting for the way of life our two blocs represent. This partnership matters,” she underlined.

She listed common values the two sides have championed throughout the decades, including dignity of every human being, equal opportunity for everyone to reach their full potential, justice, the right to feel safe and live in safety and the belief in freedom – “individual liberty, free trade, freedom to disagree and the cornerstone of everything: freedom of speech.”

Simplification, rather than complicating systems, is on top of Europe’s agenda, she said, addressing the sense of frustration and desperation that voters expressed during June’s elections.

The President added that solutions can be found to make it easier for companies to do business with and within Europe. She stated that in Washington, she met with European industry leaders that have massive operations in the US, telling them that Europe has their back.

Metsola also met with US companies to explain Europe’s future-driven approach, underlining that it is open for business. She underlined that in Europe’s process of regeneration, “I consider this an opportunity for us both.” She listed a number of European success stories, pointing out that this is why Europe’s global economic philosophy has always been to support free, open and fair trade with its allies.

Underlining that “peace is the essence of the European Union,” she remarked that the EU always wanted peace in Ukraine, acknowledging the cost and the devastation of war that many generations of people from across Europe had to endure.

“At the same time, we also need to be honest with ourselves: peace without freedom, peace without dignity, peace without justice, peace not based on the principle of ‘anything about Ukraine without Ukraine’, is no real peace at all,” President Metsola stated.

She added that the very real danger that will come with simply postponing what is happening now into an even, larger, wider, war a couple of years down the line cannot be underestimated. “Europe is ready to play our part in guaranteeing peace and stability in Ukraine because we know that this means peace and stability in Europe and that is a win-win for all.”