While a small minority of European leaders have welcomed the Republican's return to the White House, other EU leaders fear protectionist measures coming from Washington. The US president already threatened higher tariffs on Tuesday.

Von der Leyen insisted that the United States remains an important partner, taking a conciliatory tone in a speech to the annual meeting of global elites in Davos, Switzerland. The EU's "first priority will be to engage early,

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen declared Tuesday that Europe was ready to negotiate with US President Donald Trump but the bloc will also seek to improve ties with China