as reported by the Financial Times, a senior official has warned that, before the upcoming deadline for negotiations, if the European Union wants to reach a good agreement, it must make a "credible threat" to retaliate in the trade war initiated by Trump. Two EU officials said that the Chief of Staff of the European Commission told EU ambassadors last week after the G7 summit that a strong response would help persuade the US president to reduce the high tariffs imposed on the EU. German Chancellor Merkel also hinted that his government would support taking tougher measures. He said on Tuesday, "If no agreement is reached, we are prepared to use various options. We can and will defend our interests." The Chief of Staff told the ambassadors that the President of the European Commission, von der Leyen, is ready to escalate negotiations to seek a better agreement. He requested their support for a package of tariffs on US goods worth 95 billion euros, and stated that the European Commission is also preparing measures for the service industry - including taxing US tech companies, and restricting US companies from obtaining public procurement contracts. One official said the message being conveyed is, "We need to leverage through a credible rebalancing plan."