The European Union's trade commissioner said she hopes an EU mission to Washington will ease a transatlantic trade dispute.
But Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said the bloc is preparing a list of US imports to hit if the US imposes tariffs on EU cars.
Cecilia Malmstrom will travel to Washington on July 25 with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, with the latter due to hold talks focused on trade with US President Donald Trump.
The US imposed tariffs on EU steel and aluminium on June 1 and Trump is threatening to extend them to EU cars and car parts.
Malmstrom said the US car sector was healthy and that no-one involved in the sector had called for tariffs.
"We are preparing together with our member states a list of rebalancing measures there as well. And this we have made that clear to our American partners," Malmstrom told a conference hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the US in Brussels.
The EU has already imposed its own import tariffs on €2.8 billion worth of US products ranging from bourbon to motor-bikes.
Corresponding measures for cars would be far higher.
EU steel and aluminium exports to the US, which are now subject to tariffs, are worth some €6.4 billion a year. EU car and car part exports are worth €51 billion.
The Commission this week briefed representatives of EU countries on possible action.
One EU diplomat familiar with the talks said the Commission gave no examples of US products that might be hit, but said they could in theory total €9 billion, although it could also go for a larger list of products with lower tariffs.
Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said he expected Juncker to come with a significant trade offer.
EU officials have downplayed suggestions Juncker will arrive with a novel plan to restore good relations.
Some reports have said that a multilateral deal to remove car tariffs was one idea put forward.
Malmstrom today questioned the viability of such a plan and also said a bilateral deal with the US to scrap car tariffs could only be done if part of a broader trade agreement.
"The aim of President Juncker's visit is to try to establish a good relations, try to see how we can de-escalate the situation, avoiding it going further and see if there is a forum where we can discuss these issues," Malmstrom said.
"We don't go there to negotiate anything," she added.
