“A trade war is not in the interest [of either party] neither for the U.S., neither for the European Union,” Pedro Sanchez said.”A trade war is not in the interest [of either party] neither for the U.S., neither for the European Union,” Pedro Sanchez said.
A trade war is not in the interest of the European Union or the U.S., Spain’s prime minister told CNBC Wednesday.
“We share a strong transatlantic bond … our economies are very interlinked and I believe a trade war is not in the interest [of either party], neither for the U.S., neither for the European Union,” Pedro Sanchez told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“A trade war is a kind of a zero-sum gain,” he added. “We need to focus on how do we strengthen our transatlantic relationship, which is now more important than ever.”
Since his inauguration on Monday, President Donald Trump has repeated his threat to impose tariffs on EU goods entering the United States, telling reporters that the EU was “very, very bad to us. So they’re going to be in for tariffs. It’s the only way … you’re going to get fairness.”
On Tuesday, Trump said his administration was discussing imposing an additional 10% tariff on goods imported from China, starting in February. He has also warned that Mexico and Canada could likewise be targeted with import duties.
The European Union’s commissioner for the economy told CNBC that the bloc would respond to any tariffs imposed by the U.S.
“If there is a need to defend our economic interests, we will be responding in a proportionate way,” Valdis Dombrovskis told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick.
“We’re ready to defend our values and also our interests and rights if that becomes necessary,” he added.
European officials were talking to their U.S. counterparts to find a “pragmatic” solution to the discussion of tariffs, Dombrovskis stressed, noting that global growth could suffer if the economic relationship between the two nations were damaged.
Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.
This is a developing story, please check back for further updates.
