Policymakers in Brussels and other European capitals are scrambling to calibrate their response to Donald Trump’s latest barrage of tariff threats. The instrument would give the EU wide-ranging freedom to restrict US companies’ ability to operate in the European market. French president Emmanuel Macron is pushing for the EU to trigger the anti-coercion instrument, something most see as the nuclear option. Any initial EU retaliation would certainly be met with threats of even higher US tariffs. There is a feeling that could change, depending on the outcome of efforts to talk Trump down.

Source: The Irish Times January 21, 2026 01:33 UTC