EU has a ‘strong plan’ to retaliate on Trump tariffs, says von der Leyen

Head of European Commission says bloc would prefer to negotiate but all countermeasures are on the table

The European Union has a strong plan" to retaliate against tariffs imposed by Donald Trump but would prefer to negotiate, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said.

Trump, who has upended eight decades of certainties about the transatlantic relationship since taking office, has threatened tariffs on goods from around the world from Wednesday. His administration in March put tariffs on imported steel and aluminium and said higher duties on cars would come into effect on Thursday.