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Yasushi Kaneko/ The Yomiuri Shimbun European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas speaks during an exclusive interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun in Charlevoix, eastern Canada, on March 13.
By Keigo Sakai / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
1:00 JST, March 21, 2025
CHARLEVOIX, Canada — European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has warned that China could benefit from the trade war set to be escalated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
“If the U.S. has a trade war with like-minded partners like Canada or the EU or Japan, then who is benefiting from this? It is China.” said Kallas in an exclusive interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun in Charlevoix, eastern Canada, on March 13.
It was the first time she had spoken to the Japanese media since assuming the posts of EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of the European Commission in December.
At the latest meeting of the Group of Seven foreign ministers, Kallas called on the United States to exercise restraint, as the exchange of tit-for-tat tariffs between democratic countries would only exhaust each country.
The Trump administration has announced an additional plan to impose tariffs on EU steel and aluminum products, and the EU in response has announced hefty retaliatory tariffs.
“If U.S. tariffs are imposed on us, then of course, we will defend our interests … We are ready to react,” Kallas said in the interview.
However, she added, “If you think about going back in history, then this kind of trade wars have also sometimes triggered economic depression.”
Asked whether Russia can be trusted, Kallas said: “No. Very clearly, the answer is no. We have seen so many times where they have violated any kind of agreement that they have had.”
“The question is how can we make sure they are complying with agreements now … This is a very important element,” she said, stressing the importance of the involvement of Europe and the United States in providing “security guarantees” to Ukraine.
Status of occupied territories
The Trump administration is keen to quickly bring about a ceasefire in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and is reluctant to restore all Russian-occupied territories to Ukraine. Kallas also believes it will be difficult to recover the territories under the current circumstances.
Kallas pointed out that when a ceasefire takes effect there would be “a very big difference” between whether the international community formally recognizes the occupied lands in Ukraine as Russian territories or maintains its stance that the lands are Ukraine’s inherent territories.
There are fears that the occupied lands in Ukraine will remain Russian territories even after a ceasefire agreement is reached.
“When my own country Estonia was occupied for 50 years, the Western countries did not recognize these to be Russian territories,” Kallas said.
“It meant a great deal to us that actually the West did not give up and say this is Russia. And one day, we were able to get our freedom back.”
“China is carefully watching … the international response to Russia’s aggression [for China] to make further steps,” Kallas said, expressing her concern that a complete transfer of the occupied lands to Russia would embolden the hegemonic actions of the authoritarian state.
Calling for European involvement
At the recent G7 meeting, Kallas called on the United States to involve Ukraine and Europe in ceasefire negotiations. The United States responded by acknowledging that there were “a lot of elements that are up to Europeans” — including Ukrainians — to achieve a ceasefire accord, such as halting combat, lifting sanctions and ending the freeze on Russian assets. She said the participants had “very good conversations with also the Americans.”
The EU intends to assist security guarantees by helping to strengthen the capabilities of the Ukrainian forces, providing financial support and paving the way for the country to join the EU, according to Kallas.
Expectations for Japan
On March 11, the chiefs of staff from about 35 countries, including Japan, gathered in Paris to discuss security guarantees.
“We are very grateful for everything Japan has done” for military aid, Kallas said. “I think Japan needs to discuss what more you can do.”
The practical assistance that Japan could provide would mainly be infrastructure reconstruction, she suggested.
Regarding the idea of France’s nuclear weapons being used as a nuclear umbrella for Europe in terms of security in the region, Kallas said, “We have countries in Europe now — I say Europe as a continent, not the EU — that have nuclear weapons, so of course the question is how to use these nuclear weapons.”
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Kaja Kallas / EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Kallas, 47, was born in Tallinn while Estonia was under Soviet occupation. She has worked as a lawyer and served as a member of Estonia’s parliament, a member of the European Parliament and Estonian prime minister. She assumed her current post in December last year. She is known as a prominent hard-liner against Russia. Her father is former Estonian Prime Minister Siim Kallas.
