European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has furiously thrown Donald Trump's words back in his face as the US President threatens to ignite a trade war by imposing sweeping tariffs in hours. During a disastrous meeting in February with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr Trump told the wartime leader he "didn't have the cards" to dictate negotiations with the US over a peace deal with Russia.

Now Ms Von der Leyen, known as VDL, has flung the phrase back at the American president by saying, as the world's biggest trade bloc, Europe "holds a lot of cards" when it comes to a trade war with the US. Mr Trump has promised to roll out taxes on imports from other countries on Wednesday, which he claims will free the US from reliance on foreign goods. President Trump said he would impose "reciprocal" tariffs to match the duties that other countries charge on US products, dubbing April 2 "Liberation Day". But VDL has issued a huge warning that could risk starting a trade war between the United States and Europe.

She said: "Europe holds a lot of cards, from trade to technology to the size of our market. But this strength is also built on our readiness to take firm counter measures if necessary. All instruments are on the table.

"Let me be clear, Europe did not start this confrontation. We think it is wrong. We have everything we need to protect our people and our prosperity. We have the largest Single Market in the world. We have the strength to negotiate."

Speaking before the European Parliament, the European Commission President added: "We have the power to push back. And the people of Europe should know, together we will always promote and defend our interests and values. And we will always stand up for Europe.

"So many Europeans feel utterly disheartened by the announcement from the United States. This is the largest and most prosperous trade relationship worldwide. We would all be better off if we could find a constructive solution.”

The commission, the EU’s executive branch, negotiates trade deals on behalf of the bloc’s 27 member countries and manages trade disputes on their behalf.

The body already intends to impose duties on US goods worth some $28 billion in mid-April in response to Mr Trump’s 25% steel and aluminum tariffs. The EU duties will target steel and aluminum products, but also textiles, home appliances and farm goods.

A lot remains unknown about how Trump’s levies will actually be implemented, notably the "reciprocal" tariffs, and it's reported the EU wants to assess their impact before taking retaliatory action.

In the US, stocks were seen falling on Tuesday following weaker-than-expected reports on the economy. Uncertainty is also still high about just what President Trump will announce about tariffs on his "Liberation Day" tomorrow (Wednesday).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 459 points, or 1.1%, in the first few hours of trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% lower.

A new report said US employers were advertising slightly fewer job openings at the end of February than economists expected.

Wall Street has been particularly shaky recently, and momentum has been swinging not just day to day but also hour to hour because of uncertainty about what Mr Trump will do with tariffs, and by how much they could worsen inflation and grind down growth for economies.