EU poised to retaliate with tariffs if Trump wins presidency

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that the European Union has prepared a list of American goods on which it could impose tariffs if Donald Trump wins the November presidential elections in the U.S. and, according to his own announcements, imposes tariffs on all imported products.

Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, clashed with John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of the Bloomberg news service, among others, in an interview conducted on Tuesday on the topic of tariffs he plans to introduce on all goods imported to the U.S. in the event of a victory in November.

When the interviewer noted that most economists, including experts surveyed by the conservative daily "Wall Street Journal," consider Trump's plans to be inflationary, Trump replied: "What does the Wall Street Journal know? They've been wrong about everything. So have you, by the way. You've been wrong your whole life."

Bloomberg, citing "people familiar with the thinking" in the EU, reported on Wednesday that Brussels has prepared a list of American goods on which it could impose tariffs if Trump wins the elections and follows through on his threat, hitting the Community with punitive trade measures.

According to the agency, the list of goods prepared by the EU to be covered by tariffs will be used solely as retaliation for actions by the White House.

One of the anonymous sources emphasized that the EU would prefer to seek an agreement with Trump in areas of common interest, such as China.