Denmark: New U.S. tariffs not a surprise, says Foreign Minister

New U.S. tariffs targeting 60 global trade partners, including the European Union and Denmark, were not unexpected, according to Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

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The latest American tariff announcements are not unexpected, but should be seen in light of the U.S.'s internal process of establishing a legal basis for its tariffs.

Rasmussen explained that the latest U.S. tariff announcements should be viewed within the context of the U.S.'s internal processes to establish a legal basis for its tariffs. He noted that these measures are related to forced labor.

This development follows a February decision where the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a previous tariff program introduced by President Donald Trump. That initial program imposed tariffs on nearly all countries, which Trump termed punitive. After the Supreme Court's ruling, Trump implemented a 10 percent tariff on all countries, which expired on Friday.

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We are, together with the Commission and the other EU countries, continuously monitoring whether there will be further American measures that change this picture.

Shortly before the expiration, the U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, announced the new tariffs. Rasmussen stated that, at first glance, the new tariffs appear to comply with the U.S.'s WTO obligations towards the EU. He added that the EU, along with the European Commission and other member states, is continuously monitoring for any further U.S. actions that might alter this situation. The minister stressed the significance of the EU-U.S. trade relationship, the largest in the world, and warned that trade wars are detrimental to all parties involved.

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The trade relationship between the EU and the U.S. is the largest in the world, and no one wins from a trade war.