Donald Trump says tariff is a “beautiful word”. But he also prides himself on being a dealmaker. So the EU approach to the president-elect’s tariff threats suggested by European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde in an FT interview — “not to retaliate, but to negotiate” — makes sense, at least initially. Any EU offer to buy more US goods to head off a rancorous trade war should, though, be backed up by the understanding that the bloc is ready to retaliate robustly if the returning president does opt for punitive tariffs. Trump would surely seize on anything less as a sign of weakness.
唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)说关税是一个“美丽的词”。但他也以自己是一个生意人而自豪。因此，欧洲央行行长克里斯蒂娜•拉加德(Christine Lagarde)在接受英国《金融时报》采访时提出的欧盟应对这位当选总统关税威胁的方法——“不是报复，而是谈判”——是有道理的，至少最初是这样。不过，任何欧盟提出购买更多美国商品以避免激烈贸易战的提议都应该有一个前提，即如果这位即将上任的总统真的选择征收惩罚性关税，欧盟将随时准备采取强有力的报复行动。如果欧盟不这样做，特朗普肯定会认为其软弱。