European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde urged European leaders to negotiate with United States President-elect Donald Trump on trade issues, cautioning against retaliation.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Lagarde warned that escalating trade tensions could harm global economic growth. She suggested a strategy of increasing purchases of US products, such as liquefied natural gas and defense equipment, to ease tensions and avoid a tit-for-tat scenario. "The fact that you put out a range [of tariffs] means that you are open to discussion," she said.
Lagarde went on to criticize Trump's claims that tariffs would "make America great," questioning how this would be possible if global demand falls.
