In the wake of the US President Donald Trump's unexpected declaration of 30 percent tariffs on the European Union, European trade ministers are gathering in Brussels.
The EU is the greatest trading group in the world and America's main business partner.
Governments, businesses, and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic will be affected by the US decision.
“We shouldn’t impose countermeasures at this stage, but we should prepare to be ready to use all the tools in the toolbox,” said Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
“So we want a deal, but there’s an old saying: ’If you want peace, you have to prepare for war.'”
Beginning on August 1, the tariffs, which are also placed on Mexico, have the potential to destabilize economies from Portugal to Norway and raise the price of everything from German technology and Spanish medications to French cheese and Italian leather goods in the US.
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In the meanwhile, in an effort to negotiate a trade agreement with the Trump administration before the end of the month, Brussels agreed to halt retaliatory tariffs on US imports that were set to go into effect starting this week.
The EU, which negotiates trade agreements on behalf of its 27 member nations, will postpone the "countermeasures" until August 1.
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In its discussions with the US, EU trade representative Maroš Šefčovič stated that talks will go on.
The letters to Mexico and the EU coincide with Trump's intermittent threats to levy tariffs on nations in an effort to correct trade imbalances.
Before halting them for ninety days to negotiate individual agreements, Trump levied tariffs on dozens of nations in April. He started writing tariff letters to leaders this week as the three-month grace period came to an end, but he has once more postponed the implementation date for what he claims would be only a few more weeks.
Almost every element of the world economy may be affected if he proceeds with the tariffs.
Following the additional tariffs, European leaders mostly called for unity but also for a cautious hand to avoid igniting more hostilities.
While pursuing other Pacific countries like South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia, whose prime minister traveled to Brussels over the weekend to form a new economic relationship with the EU, the EU's top brass will travel to Beijing for a summit later this month. Mega-deals with Mexico and the Mercosur trading group of South American countries are also in the works.
Von der Leyen stated at his Sunday meeting with the president of Indonesia that "partners like us must come closer together when economic uncertainty meets geopolitical volatility."