Europe hopes for the Trump tariff deal, but it is preparing for the worst

European leaders were preparing for the “Trump’s trade war” – but the fact that the US tariff by 20 % was still shocking.

“This decision is a catastrophe for the economic world,” said French Prime Minister Francois Bayro.

“The consequences will be terrible for millions of people all over the world,” said Ursula von der Lynne, head of the European Union Committee, who was on a trip to Central Asia.

The European Union’s message, which has the task of responding on behalf of the 27 member states, is that Europe is ready to negotiate with the United States, but at the same time it is preparing to respond as well.

European Union Trade Commissioner Marus Sevkovic aims to talk about customs tariffs with his counterparts in the United States on Friday.

“We will behave in a calm, carefully and unified school, and we know our response, while allowing a suitable time for conversations,” he said.

For every European country, President Donald Trump’s tariff will be a severe blow, and national governments are trying to calm the fears of industry and trade.

Georgia Meloni, Italy – which until Wednesday looked more frequent than others in revenge against the United States – its memoirs and inherently summoned the ministers and business leaders to the height of the emergency.

Italy has confiscated 1.6 billion euros (1.35 billion pounds) of agricultural products and 2 billion euros of wine to the United States.

Regardless of economic losses, he says there is a risk that consumers in the United States resort to a tradition, and they acquire the market share that may go to the original Italian products.

In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez rejected Trump’s claim that the European Union was imposing 39 % of the customs tariff on American goods, and he actually insisted that it was only 3 %.

He warned that “it is just an excuse to punish countries and implement sterile protectionism. The trade war will affect everyone, but it will strike those that are ever imposed.”

The Spanish Chamber of Commerce fears 14 % reduction in exports to the United States, especially in machines and electrical equipment. Sanchez has announced a response plan of 14.1 billion euros to help work with financing and search for new markets outside the United States.

Slovakia is more exposed to most of the European Union countries, due to its strong dependence on industrial exports, and some economists warn of the deep decline in the economic product by at least 2.5 % in just two years.

Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned of a 0.4 % possible decrease in his economic production this year.

Even before Trump’s announcement, the French government reviewed the expected growth this year to 0.7 %.

The French wine and spiritual drink sector is likely to be exposed in particular. The head of a major wine organizer, Jerome Power, warned of a net loss of one billion euros (835 million pounds) to make wine in France.

Italy’s wine makers keep their breath as well.

“We have stopped exports nearly two weeks ago. Everything is paralyzed, because customers do not provide orders and importers who are not importing,” said Stefano Leon of Marchessi Antinnori, a wine factory in Tuscany with more than six centuries.

The United States represents 12 to 13 % of total sales, and Leon says the company is forgetful.

“We are waiting to understand the decisions that must be taken, depending on any counter -measures that the European Union can adopt in response to the United States. We hope that a form of negotiation will occur and lead to concrete results.”

Feelings throughout the European markets were shine, as investors sold shares that are more likely to be more vulnerable to Trump’s definitions. One of the major German companies, Adidas, witnessed 12 % of its value erasing from the stock market.

Small companies as well as large will strike.

“This is the first year in which we started exporting to the United States, and the customs tariff affects us directly,” says Rocco Mangiaracinaa, who runs a small family company that produces 20,000 bottles of olive oil in Sicily.

“Just one week ago, we sent the first 900 bottles to the American market.”

“We are ready for this trade war,” said French government spokeswoman Sophie Premas.

The largest economy in Europe, Germany, was quickly calling “an unprecedented attack on the international trading system, free trade and global supply chains.”

But Germany is still waiting for the advisor waiting for Friedrich Mirz to form a government, so it was up to the Acting Adviser Olaf Schools to indicate that “the most powerful internal market in the world with 450 million consumers” gave the power of Europe.

How will the European Union respond and can remain united?

I have already set a measurement response.

From mid -April, the first package of the European Union tariffs of 26 billion euros on American goods will take revenge for 25 % of the customs tariff for steel and aluminum exports in the European Union that were already announced in March. These have been restored to give space to resolve negotiations. If you go ahead, they will cover a wide range of agricultural, food and textile goods.

Discussions are currently taking place on a larger set of counter measures that are scheduled to come at the end of April.

With the words of Von der Leyen, Europe “carry a lot of cards”. Additional measures will not only include American goods, but their digital services are likely to be also.

Trump complains of the US trade deficit with the European Union, but with services, the United States has a trade surplus of 109 billion euros with the European Union, according to Brussels.

If the European Union decides to impose definitions or restrictions imposed on large technical services or limit access to public contracts, it can use what some have described as “Big Bazooka” – more Known as the Arch Control Tool (ACI).

This may need to support the majority of the European Union member states, but it is a strong weapon when Europe’s actions are threatened.

“He threw a hand grenade in world trade and created tremendous uncertainty,” Peter Digi Thiaben, Head of Political Geography at the Danish Industry Council, told BBC that.

He said that the American definitions will strike the smallest companies issued to the most difficult United States. While the European Union had to respond proportional, he said he had to continue negotiating to avoid a deeper trade war.

While the majority of European leaders rushed to condemn the American definitions, the Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szagarto put the blame directly on the feet of the European Union. Hungary leader, Victor Urban, is widely seen as Trump’s largest ally in Europe.

“It has been again proven that in Brussels, people are not competent, European institutions, who are also very dangerous from Trump’s phobia,” said Szigarto.

Although Norway is not a member of the European Union, Prime Minister Jonas’s store said that the US decision to impose a 15 % tariff was “bad news” that would have consequences for many Norwegian companies and jobs.

Norway is primarily a source of exporters and finance minister Jens Stalltenberg, he fears that it will be “triple pressure”. Not only through Trump’s tariff and low growth, but through anti -European anti -Union measures as well.

It can be a trade war with many victims.

Additional reports by Julia Tomassi in Rome.