ECB’s Kazāks: Europe Should Avoid Escalation with US in Trade Front

11 February 2025

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks said on Tuesday that the European Union should avoid an escalation with the US in a potential trade war.

In an interview with Latvian TV LTV, Kazāks, who heads the Latvijas Banka, said that ‘[t]ariffs are used not only for the economy, but for political reasons also’ and ‘if there is any response, then definitely we don't need to escalate.’

The US was a strategic ally of Europe, so cooperation was indispensable, he said.

‘Negotiations always help to find less painful solutions’, he indicated.

Europe should remain together and negotiate with the US to reduce the impact of tariffs, he said.

Related articles:

• ECB’s Kazāks to Return, Having Gotten the Nod for Another Term at the Head of Latvijas Banka
• ECB’s Kazāks: Neutral Rate ‘Closer to 2% Than to 3%’, Should Not Rule Out a Larger Cut
• ECB’s Kazāks: ‘Quite Likely’ That Inflation Will Be Back at 2% Earlier Than We’d Expected