The Bloco de Esquerda (BE) coordinator expressed strong criticism on Friday towards the Portuguese government’s silence on tariffs imposed globally by U.S. President Donald Trump, emphasizing the necessity for the government to articulate its stance on the issue.
Speaking to journalists in Lisbon, Mariana Mortágua highlighted growing concerns among the Portuguese population, specifically pointing to the trade war initiated by Trump.
“Donald Trump launched a trade war […], without any rationale, against the world, a war solely intended to showcase his dominance, imposing arbitrary tariffs without rationale on the rest of the world, Europe, and also Portugal,” she stated.
Continuing, she noted, “The tariffs imposed by Trump, which were anticipated, will impact the Portuguese economy, Portuguese industry, Portuguese exports, and employment in Portugal. Yet, the Portuguese government remains silent.”
“[The government] has made no preparations and cannot articulate a response because, fundamentally, we know how Trump was signaling towards the Right in Portugal, how Chega is an ally of Trump in the United States, how much of the PSD would prefer Trump to the Democrats, and this support leads the Portuguese government to complete paralysis in the face of an unprecedented commercial attack,” she observed.
The BE leader further emphasized that the “government must articulate what it thinks about these tariffs and how it plans to defend itself,” also asserting that the European Union needs to do so, explaining how it “will protect the industry and the Portuguese economy.”
“The European Union has shown a mediocre stance against Donald Trump’s attacks, and so has the Portuguese government,” Mariana Mortágua emphasized.
When asked if she believes the EU should retaliate against U.S. tariffs, Mariana Mortágua warned that caution is necessary regarding arbitrary retaliations, which could potentially raise prices and hence inflation.
“The EU should retaliate, but specifically target sectors and areas that do not jeopardize or provoke widespread inflation within the EU. Most importantly, it needs an industrial strategy for the EU’s future, which should not include producing more weapons,” she suggested.
It should be noted that the U.S. president announced on Wednesday new 20% tariffs on products imported from the European Union, adding to the existing 25% tariffs on the automotive, steel, and aluminum sectors. These measures represent an attempt to bolster U.S. industry while penalizing countries for what were alleged to be years of unfair trade practices, with surtaxes applied to countries regarded as particularly adversarial to trade.
The Portuguese Ministry of Economy announced upcoming meetings next week with 16 business associations from various sectors to assess “the impact and mitigation measures” of the tariffs announced by the U.S. President.
