US-EU: VDL Says The EU Will Be Ready For 'Tough Negotiations' With Washington

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at the EU Ambassadors Conference in Brussels, has stated that the European Union, “might have to engage in tough negotiations, even with long-time partners.”

• Von der Leyen said that the threat of a North American trade war has shown "how quickly things can escalate,” conceding that, “there will be an increased use and threat of economic coercion tools such as tariffs”.
• Von der Leyen said: “We are well into an era of hyper-competitive and hyper-transactional geopolitics… Europe must make calculated judgments about what is in its own interest in the world as it is today.”
• Von der Leyen added that the “primary focus” for the EU, “has to be to avoid a race to the bottom… We will be open and pragmatic in how to achieve that. But we will make it equally clear that we will always protect our own interests –however, and whenever that is needed."
• On the US, von der Leyen said: “Jobs, businesses, industries in EU and US rely on the transatlantic relationship,” but the EU, “will be ready for tough negotiations with the US where needed and to find solutions where possible.”
• On China, von der Leyen said the EU, “will keep de-risking economic relationship with China, but has room to engage constructively… EU can find agreements that could even expand trade and investment ties with China.”