WASHINGTON, Nov 23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The European Union is ready to respond if new trade tensions emerge with Washington, the EU ambassador to the United States said Friday, two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

While the bloc is looking into areas of cooperation, if there are trade frictions "the European Union will be ready, actually, to react," Jovita Neliupsiene told reporters in Washington.

On the campaign trail, Trump floated across-the-board tariffs of at least 10 percent on imports, in a move that could stoke tensions with allies in Europe.

When Washington slapped tariffs on 6.4 billion euros worth of European steel and aluminum exports in 2018, the EU retaliated with levies on billions in US goods.

These have since been suspended but both sides struggled to finalize a longer-term solution.

Neliupsiene stressed Friday that "we are here to build a strong foundation of continued transatlantic cooperation" on trade and other areas with the incoming US administration.

She called the United States a "credible partner" and pointed to both sides' historical record of cooperation.

She added that there are other possibilities than the imposition of tariffs, noting that this is not the only trade tool at hand.

"Even when we had tensions, be it in trade or in some other areas, we always manage to find a way out," she said.

She noted that the United States and EU have made progress on economic security issues, flagging the bloc's anti-dumping cases and anti-subsidy cases involving China.

The United States has raised strong concern over China's excess industrial capacity, imposing tariff hikes on clean energy products like electric vehicles and batteries as it tries to expand its domestic sectors.

Before the US election, the European Commission tasked a group of officials with preparing for victory by either Trump or his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, seeking to get ahead of painful consequences.

There was talk of a list of US targets if Trump imposed higher tariffs.

"It is simple. If he imposes tariffs, we will retaliate. But we have to treat Trump like any other US partner: engage and see if a positive agenda is possible," according to an EU diplomat.

Bilateral trade between the EU and the US accounts for over 40 percent of global GDP.