‘Appropriate Instruments At Its Disposal’: France Says EU Has Tools To Retaliate Against US Tariffs

Last Updated:February 22, 2026, 14:44 IST

The ACI allows a wide range of actions, from export controls to tariffs on services, as well as excluding U.S. companies from EU procurement contracts.

Brussels is ready to respond to the United States’ latest tariffs, France’s Trade Minister Nicolas Forissier told the Financial Times on Saturday.

Paris is consulting with EU partners and the European Commission following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a flat global tariff of 10% after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled many of his existing tariffs on trading partners were illegal, Forissier said.

“Should it become necessary, the EU has the appropriate instruments at its disposal," Forissier told the FT.

The EU’s response could include measures such as the so-called “trade bazooka," an anti-coercion instrument (ACI) that could impact U.S. technology companies, according to French officials cited by the newspaper.

The ACI allows a wide range of actions, from export controls to tariffs on services, as well as excluding U.S. companies from EU procurement contracts.

Additionally, a suspended package of retaliatory tariffs on more than 90 billion euros ($106 billion) of U.S. goods could also be deployed, the report added.

(With inputs from Reuters)

News world ‘Appropriate Instruments At Its Disposal’: France Says EU Has Tools To Retaliate Against US Tariffs

Read More