The European Union isn’t backing down. This week, Brussels rolled out a hefty tariff package to hit back at President Donald Trump’s 25 percent levies on aluminum and steel, announced earlier this week. The EU’s countermeasures target $28 billion in U.S. exports, matching the estimated €26 billion hit their goods will take. Conservatives say it’s a declaration of war.

EU officials aren’t hiding their game plan. According to the Associated Press, they’re aiming straight at Republican strongholds with tariffs on Kansas and Nebraska meat, Alabama and Georgia lumber, plus bourbon whiskey and Harley-Davidson bikes. Republicans growl at this cheap shot. They see it as pressure on red states to sway the White House.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen played the regret card. “We deeply regret this measure,” she said Wednesday. “Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers.” She warned of disrupted supply chains and job losses on both sides. Conservatives scoff and tell her to cry a river since Europe’s been stiffing us for years.

Trump isn’t blinking. His tariffs, tied to tax cuts and deregulation, aim to drag industries home after decades of globalist bleed-out. Apple, Honda, Oracle, and TSMC are pouring billions into U.S. plants to dodge the levies. Republicans cheer this proof that Trump’s winning the fight.

The EU’s spin falls flat. They call it “retaliatory,” but conservatives view Trump’s move as the real pushback since Brussels has long slapped barriers on U.S. goods to shield their market. “They don’t take our farm products, they don’t take our cars,” Trump said last month. “How many Chevrolets do you see in Munich? None.”

Eurostat data backs him up. In Biden’s last year, the U.S. trade gap with the EU ballooned to $216.2 billion, up from $170 billion in 2023, a $46 billion jump. Conservatives argue Trump’s leveling the field. Europe’s whining because they can’t freeload anymore.

The EU has bigger fish to fry. Von der Leyen floated swapping Russian gas for U.S. LNG last November, post-Trump win, to trim that deficit. Republicans see leverage here. Trump’s tariffs aren’t just cash grabs but geopolitical muscle, prying Europe off China and Putin.

Red states feel the pinch, no doubt. Kansas meat and Georgia lumber take the hit. Still, conservatives bet it’s a bluff since Trump’s 89 orders in 50 days show he’s unshaken. “Jobs are at stake,” von der Leyen moaned, but tough luck, Republicans say—protect your own.

The trade war’s heating up fast. Posts on X roar with defiance: “EU’s picking a fight they’ll lose!” Trump’s 82 percent speech approval last week fuels the fire. Voters back this stand, conservatives argue—Europe’s had its run.

America’s watching a titan at work. Trump isn’t just trading blows; he’s rewriting the rules. Republicans stand proud with chests out. The EU’s tariff gambit won’t bend him, and conservatives bet it’s their loss—Trump’s bringing it home, one tariff at a time.