The European Union is preparing its response to the new import tariffs on imported vehicles announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, the European Commission said on Thursday.

"We have this announcement on cars. Next week we understand that a new suite of measures from the U.S., what they're calling their reciprocal tariffs, will come into force. We regret all of these, but we are preparing for all of these," Commission spokesman Olof Gill told reporters.

"I can't tell you exact timings for when our potential response to these still not implemented actions will come, but I can assure you that it will be timely, that it will be robust, that it will be well calibrated and that it will achieve the intended impact", he added.