At its heart this is a universal tariff of 10% on all imports into the US for everyone, coming in on Friday night. On top of that, dozens of “worst offenders” will be charged reciprocally for their trade surpluses, tariffs and host of other barriers from VAT to food standards.

The impetus of what President Donald Trump has called “Liberation Day” is clear. He wants to impose sizable tariffs on many imports. That plays into China’s hand.

The European Union (EU) is prepared to retaliate against President Trump’s existing and upcoming tariffs, although the trade bloc is open to negotiations with Washington, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Europe has “a strong plan” for striking back at the United States in response to Donald Trump’s tariff hikes “if necessary,” a top official said Tuesday on the eve of a long-anticipated announcement of massive import levies by the US president.

The US president is preparing to unveil a raft of new tariffs on Wednesday - which he has dubbed "Liberation Day".

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the EU “holds a lot of cards” when it comes to dealing with the Trump administration’s new tariffs and has a good plan to retaliate if forced to.

The commission said that 16 major car manufacturers and the ACEA entered into what it called anticompetitive agreements for almost 15 years.

Volkswagen , Stellantis , 13 other carmakers and their car association were fined a total of 458 million euros ($495 million) by EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday for taking part in a vehicle recycling cartel.

The EU antitrust watchdog has fined 15 large car manufacturers and the European Automobiles Manufacturers’ Association a total of €458mn for their role in a long-lasting cartel involving vehicle recycling.