European leaders warn of pain from transatlantic trade war

European leaders warned on February 3 that US President Donald Trump's threat to expand tariffs to the EU risked setting off a trade war that would cause economic harm on both sides of the Atlantic, Report informs via Reuters.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said if the US and Europe started a trade war "then the one laughing on the side is China."

"We are very interlinked. We need America, and America needs us as well," she said, speaking ahead of an informal gathering of EU leaders in Brussels.

Trump told the 27 nations of the European Union that they were next in line following his decision to impose sweeping tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.

"It will definitely happen with the European Union. I can tell you that because they've really taken advantage of us," Trump told reporters on Sunday, reiterating complaints about a trade deficit.

"They don't take our cars, they don't take our farm products. They take almost nothing and we take everything from them."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz struck a more cautious tone, urging the EU and the US to work together.

"It's clear that as a strong economic area we can shape our own future and react to tariff policies ... But the perspective and the goal should be that things result in cooperation," he said.