Donald Trump's trade wars are getting a new front - this time aimed at Europe. The American president threatened tariffs of 100 percent on any country that imposes a tax on America's tech giants. "Any country that introduces such a tax will immediately be hit with a 100-percent tariff on every product it exports to the US," Trump declared.

The threat lands at a sensitive moment - a new trade deal between the US and the EU is due by July 4, one that already foresees 15-percent tariffs on the bulk of European exports. The digital tax remained an unresolved issue in the talks. Britain, for instance, has been levying a two-percent tax on digital services since 2020.

Brussels didn't stay silent. "Unilateral measures aimed at legitimate EU policies are unjustified. If such steps are taken, the EU will respond swiftly and decisively to protect its rights and regulatory autonomy," said European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill. Translation: we have tariffs too, if it comes to that.

For a small economy like ours, these clashes between giants aren't distant news - they move the prices, the supply chains and the investments we depend on. When elephant fights elephant, the grass suffers, the old saying goes. And the European-American trade tension is exactly that kind of clash, one where the countries on the EU's edge feel the consequences but rarely have a say in the outcome.