Macron urges EU to activate anti‑coercion tool after Trump’s tariffs on Europe
France will ask the EU to trigger its anti‑coercion instrument after US President Donald Trump announced a 10% tariff on goods from eight European countries from Feb. 1, with a threatened rise to 25% in June unless Greenland is sold to the US. President Emmanuel Macron — calling the move “unacceptable” — plans to formally request activation of the EU measure, which was created to counter deliberate trade coercion but has never been used. The tariff announcement casts doubt on the EU‑US trade deal that had been partially applied but still requires parliamentary approval. EU ambassadors are set to meet to coordinate a response; German coalition MPs and Finnish PM Petteri Orpo urged quick, concrete countermeasures and an emergency European Council meeting. The anti‑coercion tool could allow the EU to impose reciprocal tariffs, restrict access to public contracts, limit investment in sensitive sectors, or target market access and tech taxes. Market and political uncertainty following the tariff threat may delay or derail ratification of the trade agreement and raise the prospect of reciprocal measures.
Neutral
The direct impact on cryptocurrency markets is likely limited, so the overall classification is neutral. This is primarily a geopolitical and trade-policy story: Trump’s tariff threat and Macron’s push to activate the EU’s anti‑coercion instrument increase political and economic uncertainty between major economies, which can intermittently affect risk assets. In the short term, heightened geopolitical risk can trigger safe‑haven flows (benefiting BTC and stablecoins) and elevated volatility across crypto and equity markets. However, there is no direct regulatory or technical action targeting crypto in this report, nor mention of specific crypto firms or tokens, so there is no clear sustained directional catalyst for crypto prices. Historically, trade disputes (US‑EU or US‑China) have caused brief risk‑off episodes rather than long‑term structural shifts in crypto demand. If escalation leads to broader sanctions, tariffs on tech components, or disruption to payment/infrastructure firms, crypto markets could see longer‑lasting effects — either as a hedge narrative (bullish) or via reduced liquidity and investor risk appetite (bearish). For now, traders should expect short‑lived volatility tied to headlines and focus on risk management rather than major position changes.