Europe readies 'trade bazooka' aimed at Trump voters: report

The European Union is not taking President Donald Trump's trade war threats lying down.

Politico is reporting that the EU has been crafting a "trade bazooka" aimed at the United States should Trump follow through with his threatened tariffs against the major American trading partner.

Politico quotes several European officials and a common theme emerges of an unwillingness to back down to a bully such as Trump.

“We will not let ourselves be bullied, not with tariffs nor with threats about our legislation,” said Bernd Lange, the chairman of the European Parliament’s international trade committee.

“The European Commission must take swift countermeasures in reaction to Trump’s tariff war,” said Belgian lawmaker Kathleen Van Brempt. "Giving in to this bullying behavior is not an option. We must now protect European companies and families from the impact of the American measures."

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The EU's first wave of tariffs would take aim at industries likely to affect voters in pro-Trump states including Harley Davidson motorcycles, Kentucky bourbon, and Florida orange juice.

But that's just the start, as additional tariffs could bring pain to a key auto manufacturing plant.

"If the Commission makes good on its promises to inflict equal pain on the U.S., German luxury carmaker BMW would be the first to be caught in the crossfire," Politico writes. "Its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina — a conservative bastion that voted for Trump last November — exported nearly 225,000 vehicles last year, the company said before Trump’s remarks."

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