‘We care about Europe,’ Vance tells von der Leyen as trade war looms

The Trump administration cares “a lot about Europe”, US Vice President JD Vance told Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, mere hours after the White House slapped steep tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium, prompting the president of the European Commission to vow taking “firm and proportionate countermeasures”.

The Commission has not yet specified its retaliatory action, which could herald the start of an all-out trade war.

“Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered,” von der Leyen said in a short statement. “The EU will act to safeguard its economic interests. We will protect our workers, businesses and consumers.”

Von der Leyen set aside the harsh tone, however, when she sat down in Paris for her first face-to-face meeting with JD Vance, which took place after both leaders attended an AI summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

High Representative Kaja Kallas also attended the EU-US meeting.

“The Trump administration has been very clear: we care a lot about Europe, we see a lot of economic relations to build upon with Europe,” Vance said in his introductory remarks.

“And we also wanna make sure that we’re actually engaged in a security partnership that’s good for both Europe and the United States.”

Von der Leyen praised Vance’s speech during the AI summit, highlighting the “optimism” with which he spoke about the potential benefits of the rapidly advancing and rapidly disruptive technology. In the same speech, Vance also delivered a blistering attack against the EU’s regulatory approach to AI development, social media and data privacy.

“We should look with optimism at our transatlantic relations that are deep and strong bonds,” von der Leyen told Vance.

The cameras left the room after the introductory remarks.

The meeting touched upon trade frictions, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, defence spending and China’s unfair economic practices, which the EU and the US share as a common grievance. Beijing has repeatedly irked the West with its vast use of industrial subsidies, protectionist laws, IP theft, counterfeit goods and forced labour.

Kallas has previously warned that a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic would only benefit Russia and China. Brussels has accused the two countries of employing divide-and-conquer tactics to undermine the Western alliance.

“As our adversaries are coordinating their actions, we must do the same,” the High Representative said after the meeting.

The encounter in Paris exposes the fragile nature of the EU-US relations in the Trump era. The Republican has threatened to broaden his trade tariffs on all imported goods and seize Greenland by military force, if necessary. He has also sanctioned officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and pitched a far-fetched plan to take over the Gaza Strip and displace millions of Palestinians, causing consternation across Europe.

Vance, a vocal opponent of military and financial assistance to Ukraine, is scheduled to meet President Volodomyr Zelenskyy later this week at the Munich Security Conference.