EU announces measures in response to Trump's tariff war
Photo: EU responds to Trump's tariff war (Getty Images)
The European Union has adopted countermeasures against the new US tariffs on metals. Brussels is pursuing its tariffs on 26 billion euros worth of American goods, Bloomberg reports.
The announcement was made on March 12, a few hours after the US administration imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in a major escalation of the trade war between the two longtime allies. The EU will immediately start consultations with member states, and the adoption of the duties is expected in mid-April.
“The countermeasures we take today are strong yet proportionate. We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geo-economic and political uncertainties, it is not in our common interest to burden our economies with such tariffs,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
The EU will target US steel and aluminum products, as well as textiles, agricultural products and household appliances. According to the statement, the EU will also hit products that were the subject of its previous trade war with Trump, such as boats, bourbon, and motorcycles.
In addition, Trump announced the introduction of tariffs starting in early April on certain goods, including European cars.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic traveled to Washington last month to try to find an amicable solution with senior members of the Trump team, including US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. He proposed lowering tariffs on industrial goods, including automobiles, one of Trump's longstanding demands, and increasing US imports of liquefied natural gas and defense goods.
On March 10, Sefcovic stated that the US administration did not seem to have any intention of making a deal. He mentioned that just as the US looks out for its interests, so does the EU. He added that the EU would always defend European businesses, workers, and consumers against unjustified tariffs, as they expected nothing less from the bloc
Earlier, Brussels said it would respond to any US action quickly and proportionately, and for several months has been working on various lists of goods subject to sanctions, including politically sensitive products from certain US districts that would cause more economic damage to the US economy than to Europe.
Tariff wars
For the EU, the fight over US tariffs on metals began in 2018 during Trump's first term, when the US imposed duties on steel and aluminum exports, citing national security concerns.
The 27-nation bloc retaliated by imposing duties on politically sensitive companies, including Harley-Davidson Inc. motorcycles and Levi Strauss & Co. jeans.
The two sides agreed to a temporary truce in 2021, when the US partially lifted its measures and introduced many tariff quotas, which are subject to duties on metals, while the EU froze all its restrictive measures.
US President Donald Trump's tariff wars against allies have already led to a 10% drop in the US stock market, where investors lost $4 trillion. Five billionaires who supported Trump lost $200 billion during this time.
