EU must react to Trump's trade war 'with similar vigor,' says Belgian Foreign Minister

As Prévot noted, Trump's insulting remarks about the EU, along with actions taken by the US, "must lead us to react with similar vigor" and added that the 450 million-strong EU market "deserves to be treated differently."

"We know that, among the sectors likely to bring the greatest sensitivity and responsiveness (from the US - ed.), there is the whole digital component. And so personally, I'm more in favor of also using this lever as part of the battery of counter-fire measures," Prévot explained.

According to Belgium's high-ranking official, it is also worth considering the possibility of using the anti-coercion instrument, which has never been used in the EU before. The instrument was developed after Trump's first term in office and allows for wide-ranging measures in response to trade discrimination, such as quotas, tariffs, or restrictions on foreign investments.

"This war, particularly on tariffs, is like a boomerang being thrown," Prévot said. "Those using tariffs are forgetting that (the boomerang - ed.) is coming back."

Trump's trade war

On February 1, the US President signed an order imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, as well as 10% tariffs on goods from China. However, by February 3, Trump suspended the tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada. At the same time, the US President agreed to a 30-day pause in exchange for concessions from the two countries on border security and crime prevention.

The Canadian side, in turn, threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs and legal actions against the US.

To find out more about the potential global and Ukrainian consequences of Trump's new trade war, check out our analytical article on the topic.