Tariffs, The Left: “Ineffective answers from the Commission, bazookas and taxes on the super rich and Big Tech needed”

Brussels – As the EU approves the first round of counter-tariffs to counter U.S. tariffs on made-in-Europe products, The Left parliamentary group calls for verydifferent measures and criticizes the European Commission’s actions.

At today’s (April 9) press conference, members of the EU Left Group lashed out against the “trade war” advanced by U.S. President Donald Trump, who, according to co-chair Martin Schirdewan, “wants to turn the international order upside down and advances a policy in the interests of oligarchs and not citizens, which serves only billionaires.” According to the group, the Commission is allegedly not responding decisively and effectively, directing its efforts in the wrong direction and refusing to use the so-called “anti-coercion instrument,” which is the “bazooka” approved by the European Parliament in 2023 aimed at responding to economic aggression and unfair trade practices carried out by non-European powers. In addition to tariffs, the mechanism includes non-tariff measures such as restricting government procurement. “Rather than using the anti-coercive instrument, the Commission would prefer to lower tariffs with third countries,” said co-chair Manon Aubry who, in addition to the adoption of the non-tariff measures under the instrument, calls for “the exit of the EU from any free trade agreement.”

In addition to backtracking on agreements with Mercosur and Asian and African countries, the EU should move in the direction of greater taxation on the “super-earnings of multinational corporations,” said Schirdewan, pointing out how U.S. digital companies are a threat to Europe’s strategic independence in the energy, steel, and automotive sectors. “We want to ensure a perspective for our workers; Musk, Zuckerberg, and the others must pay. The appeasement with the Big Tech fascists must not come at the expense of citizens; we must use the tool on the negotiating table.”

Co-chairman Pasquale Tridico, head of the 5-Star Movement delegation in Brussels, added a third measure, namely a tax of 3 per cent on individual wealth above €100 million: “This would raise €120 billion to be used for our welfare.” “In Europe, in the last four years, the fortunes of the top one per cent of the population have increased by two trillion euros: responding with a tariff on the super-rich is not only justice but is a response to a failed model,” Tridico explained.

The MEP also commented on the visit to the White House by Council President Giorgia Meloni, scheduled for April 17, saying he was concerned and perplexed about the purpose and meaning of this meeting: “What will Giorgia Meloni really do, will she represent European interests or those of a political party? Trade policy is one of the few common policies, and external tariffs are common; nothing can be done at the member-state level. What will she do then? Will she beg Trump to do or not to do something?” concluded Tridico provocatively, stating he has no confidence in the premier’s visit.