French finance minister Eric Lombard said the European Union (EU) is not considering imposing retaliatory tariffs in response to the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration, as this could harm European consumers.

Instead, the measures under consideration will be targeted at individual US companies, not sectors, Lombard said in an interview with BFMTV.

“We [i.e. the EU] have financial instruments, and the advantage of these instruments is that they can affect businesses, but not entire industries, and they do not affect the cost of goods in Europe. We truly want to protect European Union citizens as much as possible,” the French finance minister said.

He added that Europe will adopt a “proportionate response” to Trump’s tariffs, and aimed at bringing the US “to the negotiating table.”