Fight or talk? That is the bleak option facing EU member states after US President Donald Trump escalated his trade war by pledging to levy tariffs for a number of ills such as selling cars Americans like to buy and taxing tech companies on the money they make in its market, writes Andy Bounds.

U.S. President Donald Trump cannot strike bilateral trade deals with individual EU member states and break the bloc's unity on commerce, Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said in a newspaper interview on Wednesday.

"Any agreement without us will fail, because you need Europe and Ukraine to also implement the agreement," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. "Any quick fix is a dirty deal." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said: "Nothing can be discussed on Ukraine without Ukraine or on Europe without Europe.