Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during a debate with his conservative rival Friedrich Merz that Europe is ready to respond “within an hour” if the United States imposes tariffs on the European Union.
Asked whether the bloc has a “tough list of measures” to respond to if the United States imposes tariffs, Scholz, who is trailing Merz in opinion polls, said: “Yes, to put it in the most cautious diplomatic way. We as the European Union can act within an hour.”
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on America’s largest trading partners, accusing them of taking advantage of American prosperity for free.
Trump has promised to announce tariffs next week in response to many countries, after signing an order delaying tariffs on low-cost imports from China until the Commerce Department can confirm that the necessary procedures and systems are in place to process the imports and collect the tariff revenue.
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