MEP Nicola Procaccini, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-hand man in the European Parliament, added: “We have to avoid the escalations.”
Three diplomats POLITICO spoke with said the tool was still being considered — but as a last-resort option that requires more consideration within capitals.
Ambassadors on Monday relayed a growing resolve to hit back that had emerged from their three-hour meeting on Sunday.
“The mood is shifting,” said a senior EU diplomat. “We need to be stronger and firmer. He [Trump] probably respects the show of force more than the hand that you extend to him because this is for him a sign of weakness.”
In parallel, European embassies in Washington are coordinating among themselves to reach out to key U.S. industries and firms that would be hit by potential EU countermeasures in an effort to build pressure on Trump to abandon the plan, according to two of the diplomats. They are also reaching out to members of Trump’s entourage and to Republicans running for reelection in mid-term elections in the U.S. in November.
“What we are trying to do is influence members of Congress,” said the senior EU diplomat above, who was in the room when ambassadors held their emergency meeting on Sunday evening. “They are Republicans, they are up for reelection in November. They have to think about their audiences at home. We are trying to convince them to do something.”
“European patience and tolerance are at an all-time low. But that doesn’t mean that collectively we would be prepared to use” the full force of the EU’s trade weapons, said a national official. “We’re trying to deescalate this week.”
Zoya Sheftalovich and Nicholas Vinocur reported from Brussels; Max Griera reported from Strasbourg. Gerardo Fortuna, Gabriel Gavin, Jacopo Barigazzi and Seb Starcevic contributed reporting.