EU and UK preparing for possible trade war with US

The European Union and the United Kingdom have prepared countermeasures in case U.S. President Donald Trump raises tariffs on goods from European countries, Politico reports, citing its sources.

“While it’s clear Europe doesn’t want to be at odds with the United States, it has also done much more work to prepare for conflicts this time than it had ahead of Trump’s first term. Brussels and London have been war-gaming scenarios for months and have readied an arsenal of weapons for a trade war if necessary,” the newspaper writes.

The EU fears that Trump will return to protectionist policies and again raise tariffs on EU goods. Trump has announced his intention to sign an executive order to increase tariffs by 10 percent on goods from China and impose a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada. In addition, the U.S. leader is in favor of increasing defense spending by all NATO members by 5 percent of GDP. According to Trump, “they can all afford it.”