The European Union's Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic flew to the United States on Monday ahead of talks with senior officials as a full-blow trade war between the two sides became more likely.
Sefcovic's bout of diplomacy followed President Donald Trump seemingly laughing off the bloc's assertion on Sunday that it is set to bloc some US imports, apparently in retaliation against tariffs previously announced by Washington.
"That's alright. I don't mind. Let them do it," Reuters quoted Trump as saying. "Let them do it. It's just hurting themselves if they do that."
He made the incendiary comment from a high-octane motor race, after the bloc said it planned to block imports of US soybeans and other foods, ostensibly because they are produced in less regulated conditions that agricultural products within the EU. The bloc says US soybeans, for example, are grown with the help of pesticides that are outlawed in the EU on health grounds.
Trump said the bloc's apparent retaliatory move will not deter him from implementing a slew of new tariffs on products exported from the EU to the US.
The Financial Times newspaper said the EU's executive, the European Commission, plans to agree the prohibition of some US agricultural products in the coming days. The move is being seen as a countermeasure to tariffs Trump has already announced on EU exports to the US.
Reuters said a White House official insisted that, despite appearances, Trump is not trying to start a trade war, but is pushing for fair and reciprocal trade for US farmers.
"We will continue to look to open markets all over the world for high-quality American products," the unnamed official added.
But officials and politicians throughout the EU have reacted with horror to Trump's plan to start taxing imports of steel and aluminum at 25 percent starting March 12. He has also said he will unveil new tariffs on vehicles imported from the EU, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductor chips. And he has said he will sign off on reciprocal tariffs starting in April that will counter existing EU tariffs.
The United Kingdom has joined the EU's criticism of Trump's tariffs, but has said it is hoping to negotiate an exemption, at least for its steel exports.
UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC the UK and the US have a "mutual interest" in exempting UK steel exports from the 25-percent tariff, because British products are specialized, and widely used in US armaments.
"I appreciate they have a mandate for changing how they approach the issues of trade," he said. "But we have got a different argument, a different story to tell, to the EU or to China in relation to our trading relationships."
The UK currently exports around 400 million pounds ($504 million) of steel to the US each year.
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