A top European Union official, who is trying to head off a potential trade conflict, stressed the importance of active engagement and fairness in trade during a four-hour meeting with Trump administration officials on Wednesday.

The European Union has vowed to take firm and proportionate countermeasures in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.

Donald Trump’s tariffs are a headache for all his trade partners. But the U.S. president’s plan to impose ad hoc “reciprocal” levies on imports are a particular problem for the European Union. By enabling him to target whichever countries in the bloc he pleases,

European Union trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Thursday that his top priority in trade talks with President Donald Trump's administration is to avoid a period of economic pain for both sides from unilateral U.

The European Union's top trade officials said on Wednesday the bloc was interested in making mutually beneficial trade deals with U.S. President Donald Trump, and was ready to discuss the potential for reducing or eliminating tariffs on motor vehicles and other goods.

The European Commission is investigating whether to tighten its current system of quotas on steel imports to protect EU producers from new tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump plans to impose on incoming steel and aluminium on March 12.