There are no winners in trade wars and in the end, ordinary consumers will have to pay for everything.
This was stated by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas at the doorstep of an informal meeting of EU defense ministers in Warsaw on Thursday, commenting on the introduction of U.S. tariffs, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“There are no winners in trade wars, and it is clear that all these tariffs will raise prices for the consumers, and in the end we get to pay for everything,” Kallas emphasized.
In this context, she drew attention to the fact that EU member states retain critical cooperation with the United States in the defense area. At the same time, with its own White Paper on defense, Europe will now explore ways to strengthen its own defense industry.
“We are buying a lot from the Americans right now, but we need to diversify our portfolio so that we would have capabilities to produce ammunition and other things we need here, and also to be able to buy from other allies so that we have a diversified portfolio,” the EU High Representative emphasized.
Regarding the implementation of the provisions of the White Paper on the future of European defense, Kallas emphasized that on top agenda now is issue of its implementation by member states. According to the top diplomat, this must be done as soon as possible, but no later than 2030.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump announced large-scale universal tariffs against the country’s trading partners, which he called America’s “Liberation Day.”
The EU White Paper Readiness 2030 envisages creating conditions under which European countries would be able to increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP.
