France's foreign minister has called on the European Union to respond to Trump's comments on new tariffs

French Foreign Minister Francois Barrot said the European Union would respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff comments. The European Commission said it would take action to protect EU interests but had to wait for more details on the measures.

Reuters reported that Trump said on Sunday that he would announce a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States on Monday. This is a major escalation of his trade policy.

French Foreign Minister Francois Barrot told TF1 television on Monday that France and its European partners should not hesitate to defend their interests in the face of U.S. tariff threats.

Asked if France and the EU would respond, he said: "Of course... Trump did it in 2018, we responded then, and we will respond again."

Barrot added that the European Commission would decide which industries would be affected by the response measures. He added: "[The committee] is ready to pull the trigger when the time is right." Now the time is ripe. A trade war with the EU is in no one's interest."

The European Commission said later in the day that the EU would act to protect EU interests after Trump announced tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products, but would not respond until it had detailed or written instructions on the measures.

When Trump first took office, he imposed tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports on the grounds of national security. The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in 2022 that the US imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products in 2018 in violation of relevant WTO rules.