EU considering hitting US with 93 bln euro worth of tariffs: media

BRUSSELS -- The European Union is considering hitting Washington with 93 billion euros ($107.68 billion) worth of tariffs or restricting American companies from the bloc's market, in response to US President Donald Trump's tariff threats over Greenland, according to Financial Times.

Citing officials involved in the preparations, the Financial Times said the retaliatory measures are being drafted to give European leaders leverage ahead of pivotal meetings with Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos the following week.

The report said the EU had drawn up the tariff list since last year but kept it suspended until Feb 6 to avert a trade war. However, amid the escalation of the transatlantic rift over Greenland, representatives of EU members discussed reactivating it on Sunday, alongside talks about using the Anti-Coercion Instrument, which could curb US firms' access to the bloc's market.

The report came after the eight countries directly targeted by the US proposed tariffs — Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom — issued a joint statement on Sunday declaring "full solidarity" with Denmark and Greenland.

In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said the United States would levy a 10-percent tariff from Feb 1 on goods from the mentioned eight countries. He warned the rate would rise to 25 percent on June 1 and remain in place until a deal is reached for the "complete and total purchase" of Greenland.

Trump, due to attend the World Economic Forum on Wednesday and Thursday, is expected to hold private talks with European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and to join a meeting of Western countries backing Ukraine.