European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Thursday called for less reliance on the U.S. for defence procurement following announcement of sweeping punitive tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump had on Wednesday announced blanket tariffs of at least 10 per cent on all goods imported into the U.S. and higher levies for some countries.
The EU faces tolls of 20 per cent on its goods.
Asked on the sidelines of an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Warsaw whether a trade war with the U.S. would affect defence cooperation, Kallas responded: “There are no winners in trade wars.
“Of course, the defence cooperation that we have with the Americans is also very important.”
However, she said the bloc needed to think about what it could do about its own defence industry.
“We are buying a lot from Americans right now, but we need to diversify our portfolio so that we have capabilities to produce here the ammunition and things that we need here,” Kallas said.
She added that purchases would also have to be made from other allies to ensure a diversified portfolio. (dpa/NAN)
