EU readying 'countermeasures' if tariffs deal with US crumbles

The European Union on Monday said it is preparing “countermeasures” against the United States after the Trump administration's surprise tariffs on steel rattled global markets and complicated the ongoing wider tariff negotiations between Brussels and Washington. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed last week to “accelerate talks” on a deal, but that if those trade negotiations fail “then we are also prepared to accelerate our work on the defensive side," European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill told a press conference in Brussels.