The "trade war" between the United States of America and the European Union will be detrimental to both sides, former Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

Borg, who previously held roles as Deputy Prime Minister and European Commissioner, made this statement in response to a question from this media house regarding the impact of US tariffs on both Europe as a whole and Malta in particular.

On Wednesday, the EU announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on US industrial and farm products. This trade action was in response to the Trump administration increasing tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to 25%. The EU measures are set to cover goods such as steel, aluminium products, textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that due to the US applying tariffs worth $28bn, the EU's countermeasures would be worth €26bn, which is roughly the same value. She said that the EU "will always remain open to negotiation".

On Thursday, President Trump said that the US would impose a 200% tariff on wine, champagne and spirits from the EU if the EU went ahead with its planned 50% tariff on American whiskey set to take effect on 1 April.

Borg questioned if the imposing of tariffs is "just a chess move", meaning that the tariffs are being used to apply pressure in order to reach an agreement "somewhere in between". On that note, he spoke of how the US tariffs against Mexico "have been diluted and withdrawn, while with Canada, it is still an open war".

With that in mind, Borg remarked that US President Donald Trump might change his tactic due to his position in the polls not being particularly good at the moment.

Borg commented that when one indulges in such tactics, they may see some success sometimes, as he said that there is no doubt now that Europe will invest more in defence, "but in the long run, it is detrimental to both sides".

"We will go through difficult times," he stated, as he expressed that there is a sense of anxiety of whether any good will come out of this situation as "whatever happens in Europe affects Malta". Continuing on that point, Borg said that the situation for Malta would be worse if it were not part of the EU, as the country would still have been affected "just the same, but without being able to influence decisions". He remarked that being a member of the EU could also mean protection for Malta.

The Malta Independent on Sunday asked Borg whether he believes Trump's actions may have contributed to undermining the EU, particularly with regard to the imposing of tariffs as well as Trump's claims that the US has contributed much more than the EU in Ukraine's effort against Russia, despite available figures indicating that their total contributions are comparable in value.

The former Deputy Prime Minister replied that he thinks the EU has reacted in a "calm, but positive way", particularly following "that infamous meeting at the White House", referring to the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with US President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, which resulted in the cancellation of a press conference on that same day. Borg described the meeting as "an ambush".

The fact that after that meeting Zelenskyy was received with full honours by the EU and the UK, which although is not part of the EU is European to the hilt, "goes to show that Europe is taking an independent stand both on defence and foreign policy", Borg said. Having said that, he continued that Europe "can never break all relationships with the US" and he also does not think that the US wants to break all relationships with the EU.

Borg was asked if he believes that Trump's popularity has changed the dynamic of politics worldwide, particularly in the way politicians behave or present themselves.

"Yes," he said, "there are those who try to emulate him." However, he believes that such popularity will be short-lived, and he again referred to Trump's polling performance. "Of course that could change in four years' time, but in any case in four years' time he cannot contest the election again because the US Constitution does not allow for that - and I think he has also said that he would not contest."

Returning to the point of politicians emulating Trump, The Malta Independent on Sunday asked Borg if he believes that there are politicians in Malta doing so.

Again, he replied that "yes, there are some politicians who admire Trump because of his macho image". However, Borg commented that politics should not be run this way.

"It could be popular for a short period of time, after all, we have seen this before. Before the war, there was a movement in America not to get involved in wars outside America, so unless it were to be invaded, they would not participate in a war; but of course, they then realised that what happens in Europe affects their country as well."

Borg said that "the flirting with the invader" rather than supporting the country being invaded can create a precedent for other areas in the world where a larger nation suppresses a smaller nation. "The question will then arise: what will America do in that situation?"

He remarked that Trump "sometimes uses the stick, and sometimes uses the carrot", as he said that the US President sometimes criticises Zelenskyy, and sometimes criticises Russia. He concluded that the current situation hinges on observing what unfolds next after Ukraine's acceptance of a 30-day ceasefire. "The ball is now in Russia's court," Borg said.

The Malta Independent on Sunday also contacted former foreign ministers Alex Sceberras Trigona and George Vella, but both declined to comment.