PARIS, April 2 (Xinhua) -- French government spokesperson Sophie Primas said on Wednesday that the European Union (EU) would retaliate, by the end of April, against new tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to announce later on Wednesday.

Speaking to the press after a Council of Ministers meeting, Primas told reporters that France and the EU have already prepared two responses to Trump's tariffs.

"The first, which will take place in mid-April, is a response to the tariffs already announced on steel and aluminum," she said.

A second response to the new tariffs, at the European level, would be announced by the end of April after a precise study. She stressed that the European response would be delivered in a "consistent, united and strong way."

She noted that the EU has already begun to study which sector of activity would be subject to the retaliatory measures.

"We need to be very vigilant about the choice of these sectors of activity, and at the same time very strong and united, because obviously, one of the United States' strategies is to try to disunite us and find points of divergence between European countries," she added.

Trump is set to roll out "reciprocal tariffs" on what he called "Liberation Day" this Wednesday, targeting any country that has imposed levies on U.S. goods.

The initiative aims to match the tariffs levied by other countries on American goods by imposing equivalent rates on their exports to the United States. However, this approach has drawn widespread criticism for its potential to undermine the established multilateral trade system that has contributed significantly to global prosperity. Enditem

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