“It’s clear that a line has been drawn and enough is enough,” said one diplomat familiar with Sunday’s talks. “We are discussing options — if Trump’s tariffs are imposed, then we will be discussing not what options there are but which options to use.”
The €93 billion in retaliatory tariffs would reactivate measures that the EU put on hold after signing a trade deal with the U.S. in July. According to a second EU diplomat briefed on the talks, such a move could be taken “very quickly,” compared to other options being discussed.
An alternative would be using the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), a “trade bazooka” designed to penalize countries using their markets as geopolitical blackmail, several officials said. This is a stronger measure and would face concern from more cautious bloc members. Governments did not ask the European Commission to move forward with this tool’s deployment at this stage, according to three diplomats.
Before Sunday’s discussions, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Brussels to activate the ACI, including restrictions on foreign direct investment and intellectual property protections. Two diplomats said France’s envoy raised the prospect in the room.
Macron’s office stated while the ambassadors were meeting that the president had spoken with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO chief Mark Rutte, reaffirming the importance of a “firm, united, and coordinated European response through the activation of the anti-coercion instrument should the United States carry out its tariff threat.”
“There are many ways forward,” said an EU diplomat. “There are other diplomatic and economic possibilities to act. Some can be spoken about publicly, others can’t.”
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