Europe must pile pressure on Trump over tariffs, Germany’s Habeck urges

BERLIN — Germany’s outgoing Economy Minister Robert Habeck launched a blistering attack Thursday on U.S. President Donald Trump’s new global tariff regime — and is calling on Europe and like-minded partners to form new trade alliances in response.

“The logical consequence is: then he needs to feel the pressure,” Habeck said in Berlin, adding that Trump “only folds when he’s under pressure.” He called the new tariffs — a blanket 10 percent levy on all U.S. imports and much steeper rates for dozens of countries — “the most disruptive tariff hike in 90 years.”

“This was a day of arbitrariness,” Habeck said. “And that will prove true in many ways — the consequences could be dramatic.”

The EU, which now faces a 20 percent tariff under Trump’s policy, is preparing detailed countermeasures. Holding up a classified draft list of targeted American goods, Habeck said the bloc was “not just putting tariffs on almonds” but developing a broad, strategic response “product by product.”

Yet Habeck’s message extended far beyond retaliation. He framed the moment as a pivot point in global trade — and an opportunity for Europe to forge new alliances. “An alliance with Canada and Mexico is the order of the day,” he said, pointing to informal talks with both countries during this week’s Hannover Messe, one of the world’s largest trade fairs for industrial technology. “When you speak with them, you realize they think just like us.”

He also noted a rare joint statement by China, Japan and South Korea pledging to coordinate their responses — a sign, he said, of how seriously the global economic order is being challenged. “They don’t particularly like each other, but now they’re united to stop this economic blind flight,” Habeck said.

Habeck was unsparing in his criticism of Trump’s rationale for the tariffs. “The core assumption is wrong,” he said. “The U.S. has profited enormously from globalization. That they haven’t distributed the gains fairly is their domestic problem. But blaming others is dishonest — and dangerous.”

He warned that the tariffs risk triggering recessions worldwide. According to German economic estimates, U.S. growth could shrink by 1.9 percent if the tariffs remain in place.

“This isn’t just about Europe,” Habeck said. “This is about defending the idea of fair, rules-based global trade. And we must meet this moment with unity, pragmatism — and pressure.”