Scholz announces countermeasures in the event of US tariffs

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday announced that there would be European countermeasures should the US impose additional tariffs on goods exported from the European Union, reported dpa.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday announced that there would be European countermeasures should the US impose additional tariffs on goods exported from the European Union.

"As a strong economic area, we can organize things ourselves and can also react with customs policies," Scholz said as he arrived at an EU summit in Brussels.

"We must and will do this, but the perspective and goal should be that we proceed in such a way that it leads to cooperation," he added.

"It is clear that the precondition for understanding is that you know your own strength. Europe can act."

US President Donald Trump announced punitive tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico and threatened the European Union with the same due to the trade surplus EU countries such as Germany have with the US.

Scholz emphasised that both sides would benefit from the exchange of goods and services.

"If customs policy now makes this difficult, it would be bad for the US and bad for Europe."