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France pushes retaliation against US tech, Ireland baulks as EU splits over Trump tariffs - FRANCE 24
Divergences in the EU's response to President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught were on display at a meeting of the bloc's trade ministers on Monday. France pushed for the EU to consider targeting US digital services, drawing fire from Ireland which relies heavily on US investment, particularly in the tech sector.
Should the European Union target US Big Tech and services in response to President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught? Differences on the key issue were on display on Monday as the EU sought a show of unity on the pushback.
The EU's trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, said the 27-country bloc was weighing its response to a "paradigm shift of the global trading system" as Trump's sweeping tariffs sent world markets crashing.
But the bloc has already vowed strong countermeasures should negotiations with Trump's team fall short – and ministers hoped on Monday to narrow their differences over what that response could entail.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck likewise said Europe must be prepared to use it.
