PARIS / BRUSSELS — Tensions are heating up between the European Union and President Donald Trump as the EU’s largest economies threaten retaliation against Trump’s new wave of tariffs.
France’s Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin warned that the EU is ready to hit back hard, saying Europe has a “very complete” and “extremely aggressive” toolbox to counter the U.S. measures. This could include targeting American goods, services, and even locking U.S. companies out of European public markets.
“We must not exclude any option,” Saint-Martin said, hinting at using the EU’s “anti-coercion” measures to freeze American investments in Europe.
These statements come as the Trump administration imposes what it calls “reciprocal tariffs”—aimed at leveling the playing field with countries like France and Germany that have long imposed trade restrictions on U.S. exports.
Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron called on national companies to stop investing in the U.S., a move meant to show economic “patriotism” in response to Trump’s tariffs. Over the weekend, Economy Minister Éric Lombard echoed the call, saying French firms should think twice before opening factories in the United States.
“It is clear that if a large French company agreed to open a factory in the United States, it would give the Americans a point,” Lombard said.
Meanwhile, Germany—Europe’s other economic powerhouse—is urging calm.
Berlin, still struggling from the Ukraine war fallout and an auto industry battered by energy shortages and cheap Chinese electric vehicles, is wary of starting a full-blown trade war.
“We don’t want to bring about a trade war,” said German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. “But we will protect our domestic companies from any further escalation.”
Ultimately, any EU response will be shaped in Brussels, where top trade envoy Maroš Šefčovič called Trump’s actions a “paradigm shift” in U.S.-EU trade relations. He said Brussels will offer financial support to struggling European industries and will look to speed up trade deals with other nations in response.
European markets reacted nervously. The Eurostoxx 600 index dropped 5% by midday Monday, rattled by fears of escalating economic conflict.
But President Trump, speaking aboard Air Force One, stood firm.
“Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump said. “We’ve been treated so badly by other countries.”
He claimed that over $7 trillion has already been committed to U.S. investments thanks to his economic policy, including new auto plants and semiconductor facilities.
“Eventually, [America] will be the most dominant country economically in the world,” he added.
As the trade standoff deepens, one thing is clear: President Trump isn’t backing down—and Europe is scrambling to keep up.
