#TradeWarEases Donald Trump's intention to penalize Europe with new tariffs is on everyone's lips. The U.S. president claims that the European Union (EU) has been scamming the United States for a long time and benefiting unilaterally. In doing so, he exaggerates the EU's trade surplus with the U.S. In reality, it only hovers around 3%.

According to Eurostat data, the U.S. is the most important destination for European goods exports. In contrast, it ranks second in EU imports, after China and ahead of the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Possible losses in global GDP

"The EU and the U.S. must work together to defend multilateralism and an international order based on rules," the European Commission recently warned in a press release.

At the same time, the EU has strengthened its trade defense instruments, including one to combat coercion, which can be used as a last resort against the commercial extortion of third countries.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) actually maintains a dispute resolution system, but it does not apply to cases of economic blackmail, the European Parliament warned.

It is necessary to keep a cool head, the WTO Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, warned during a debate held in January at the WEF in Davos.

The world has worked hard throughout history to reduce tariffs and this approach has boosted global trade for the benefit of all countries, she cautioned.