MNI BRIEF: EU Ready To Use "All Tools" If Needed - Rasmussen

Now is not the time for the EU to escalate trade tensions with the US, but the bloc's trade ministers who meet Monday should get ready to use all the "tools in its toolbox," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen said. 

Speaking ahead of the meeting which he will chair, Rasmussen said that he hoped to get agreement on a second package of EU countermeasures, now estimated at around EUR70bn worth of US exports, in addition to the already agreed EUR20bn which was suspended at the weekend.

But his latest remarks suggest Brussels may be preparing to go further in response to President Trump's threat of 30% tariffs against the EU if no satisfactory trade deal is reached by August 1. Some countries, including France, are pushing for tougher retaliation against the US, up to and including the EU's new anti-coercion instrument, which could be deployed against the US services sector.