Leaders may first try to negotiate before imposing reciprocal tariffs, says Timothy Hellwig, an expert on European politics.

A top European Union official warned the U.S. on Tuesday that the world's biggest trade bloc "holds a lot of cards" when it comes to dealing with the Trump administration's new tariffs and has a good plan to retaliate if forced to.

The European Union is dialing back the pace of its planned retaliation against U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, a senior official said Thursday. The move comes after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned trading partners might risk still higher levies if they retaliate.

Alongside Wall Street, global stock markets took a beating after Trump unveiled a 10% baseline tax on all imports, as well as higher tariff rates for some major trade partners.

On Wednesday, Trump dumped the European Union in the worst category of America’s trade partners, hitting the bloc with a 20 percent tariff on all imports. The U.S. president said the EU was “ripping off” the United States, adding it was “pathetic.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the EU “holds a lot of cards” when it comes to dealing with the Trump administration’s new tariffs and has a good plan to retaliate if forced to.

Europe has “a strong plan” for striking back at the United States in response to Donald Trump’s tariff hikes “if necessary,” a top official said Tuesday on the eve of a long-anticipated announcement of massive import levies by the US president.

Everyone knew tariffs were coming and everyone was left stunned by them all the same. US President Donald Trump’s announcements of the punishing levies ripped through markets and left governments around the world searching for answers.

The European Union (EU) is prepared to retaliate against President Trump’s existing and upcoming tariffs, although the trade bloc is open to negotiations with Washington, according to European