The EU could help the US in its trade battles against “common competitor” China if Donald Trump does not hit the bloc with “silly” tariffs, the prime minister of Belgium said.
Alexander De Croo said EU leaders discussed the need for unity in the face of the president-elect’s threats to impose a 10 per cent tariff on European goods during Thursday night dinner talks in Budapest.
The EU has drawn up a list of US products such as Kentucky bourbon for retaliatory tariffs in Republican-led states seen as vulnerable in the 2026 midterm elections, which would risk a trade war with Washington.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has vowed to hit Beijing with 60 per cent tariffs, which has sparked fears that Europe could be flooded with Chinese products priced out of the US market.
“I think we need to have a clear dialogue with him and explain what the effect could be for Europe and the United States,” Mr De Croo said as he arrived for a second day of summit talks in the Hungarian capital on Friday.
“I think that we have a common competitor, and the common competitor we have is China.”
“So if the United States wants to do something about the competitive behaviour of China, where you could ask questions on if it is within WTO [World Trade Organisation] rules, there we can work together.
“We’re actually allies and it would be a bit silly if allies would impose tariffs on each other.
“We should have an open dialogue with the United States on that, but I think our common competitor is China. We’re not competitors with one another.”
A European diplomat also told the Telegraph: “China was broadly identified as an area where the EU could work with the US.”
Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, said: “We are close friends. I would prefer no competition between us in this world with so much insecurity.
“I think we have to stick together but, of course, Europe has to do what Europe has to do.”
Viktor Orban, the Trump-supporting prime minister of Hungary, said the trade issue “will not be easy” because the president-elect is “the master of dealmaking”.
“He is a tough negotiator on trade issues,” he said on Thursday night. “It will be a serious negotiation between the US and EU.”
The United States was the largest market for EU exports of goods, at 19.7 per cent, in 2023. The US is the EU’s second-largest trading partner for imports.
Putting goods and services together, EU-US trade was worth $1.3 trillion (£1 trillion) in 2022.
Other EU leaders called on Europe to ramp up its arms manufacturing and common defence policy amid fears Mr Trump will cut off support to Ukraine.
His proposed trade tariffs are partly motivated by his belief that the EU runs huge trade surpluses with the US, while relying on it to pay for its military security.
“The world is made up of herbivores and carnivores. If we decide to remain herbivores, then the carnivores will win and we will be a market for them,” Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
He added: “I think, at the very least, we should choose to become omnivores.”
Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, said Europe would face a more “contractual approach” after Mr Trump’s return to the White House following his victory in this week’s US presidential election.
Speaking on Friday, Mr Borrell said: “The only recipe for Europe to survive is to be more united and to build a stronger union, a sovereign union, able to face the challenges of the world without outsourcing our security to anyone else.
“If you are not at the table, you will be on the menu,” he said and added, “Whatever happens, we have to continue fulfilling our commitment with Ukraine.”
“We need more Europe. We need a stronger Europe,” said Luc Frieden, the prime minister of Luxembourg.
Charles Michel, European council president, and Ursula von der Leyen, European commission president, both spoke with the president-elect on Thursday.
“I passed the message yesterday to Donald Trump, that we would like to cooperate with him in all things, including on Ukraine,” Michel said.
EU leaders are expected to agree a joint statement calling for “an ambitious, robust, open and sustainable trade policy, with the WTO at its core, which defends and promotes the EU’s interests”.
The statement also calls on Europe to increase “our defence readiness and capabilities, in particular by strengthening our defence technological and industrial base accordingly”.
It added: “The commission will present without delay developed options for public and private funding.”
