EU adopted tariffs on US goods worth €21 billion due to Trump's tariffs on metals
Kyiv • UNN
The European Union has approved tariffs on goods from the United States in response to American tariffs on steel and aluminum. These measures will intensify the trade war between the EU and the US, affecting exports from both sides.
The European Union has approved tariffs on US goods worth about 21 billion euros ($23.2 billion) in response to the 25% tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump last month on steel and aluminum exports from the bloc, UNN reports, citing a statement from the European Commission and Bloomberg.
Today, EU member states voted in favor of the European Commission's proposal to introduce trade countermeasures against the United States. The European Commission's proposal was made in response to the US decision in March to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from the EU,
As noted, the EU considers US tariffs to be unjustified and destructive, causing economic damage to both sides, as well as to the global economy.
"The EU has stated its clear preference to find agreed results with the US that would be balanced and mutually beneficial," the statement said.
"Today's vote by member states means that - once the European Commission's internal procedures are completed and the implementing act is published - the countermeasures will enter into force. Tariffs will begin to be levied from April 15. These countermeasures may be suspended at any time if the US agrees to a fair and balanced agreed outcome," the European Commission said.
According to Bloomberg, EU tariffs will target politically sensitive US states and will include products such as soybeans from Louisiana, where House Speaker Mike Johnson lives, as well as diamonds, agricultural products, poultry and motorcycles.
This move, as indicated, is fueling a growing transatlantic trade war, amid the US also applying a universal tariff of 20% on almost all European exports, as well as a separate tariff of 25% on cars and some auto parts. Trump said he would announce additional tariffs on lumber, semiconductor chips and pharmaceuticals. All new Trump tariffs affect about 380 billion euros of EU goods.
Some of the EU tariffs will take effect in mid-April, while another list will be introduced in mid-May, and a third will take effect from December 1, as Bloomberg previously reported. Most of the affected goods are subject to a 25% tariff, while a few categories will be subject to a 10% levy.
Bourbon was excluded from the bloc's list amid pressure from member states after Trump threatened 200% tariffs on wine, champagne and other alcoholic beverages from France and other countries.
Trump has repeatedly attacked the EU, the US's largest trading partner, saying it was created to "cheat" the US, and that the bloc's trade surplus in goods is evidence of unfair relations. According to the World Trade Organization, the EU's average weighted tariff rate in 2023 was 2.7%.
"They come up with rules and regulations that are designed for one purpose only: you can't sell your products in those countries," Trump said earlier this week. - And we will not allow this to happen."
EU Trade Committee Chairman Maroš Šefčovič discussed the parameters of possible engagement on trade issues with his US counterparts on Tuesday evening, according to a European Commission spokesman. The talks have not yet yielded significant progress, and according to people familiar with the discussions, US officials do not yet appear to have a clear mandate to negotiate from Trump.
The bloc's executive body, the European Commission, is working on a "list of conditions" of potential areas for negotiations, including lower tariffs, rules and standards, as Bloomberg previously reported.
Wednesday's vote, as indicated, underscored unity in EU capitals in the face of Trump's escalating trade dispute. The US measures threaten to wipe out much of the eurozone expansion projected by the European Central Bank for this year and next, the publication writes.
In addition, the European Commission, which deals with the bloc's trade issues, is preparing a series of countermeasures in response to the so-called reciprocal tariffs that came into force on Wednesday. The European Commission plans to announce its plans early next week, and then begin consultations with member states, its spokesman said.
The universal tariffs are designed to target all trade barriers faced by US exports abroad, such as tariffs, domestic regulations and taxes, including value-added tax. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen previously stated that the EU has "many cards," including retaliatory tariffs and targeting American service and technology companies.
France, Germany and other countries have called on the European Commission to consider using the bloc's anti-coercion instrument - the EU's most powerful trade instrument designed to retaliate against countries that use trade and economic measures coercively, Bloomberg previously reported.
The bloc still wants to find an agreed solution to the tariff dispute, but so far it has failed to hold meaningful talks with the US administration, the publication notes.