Brussels (TDI): The European Union will impose counter tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28 billion) worth of US goods from next month, the European Commission said on Wednesday, ramping up a global trade war in response to blanket US tariffs on steel and aluminium.
US President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs of 25% on all steel and aluminium imports took effect on Wednesday as prior exemptions, duty free quotas and product exclusions expired.
The European Commission said it will end the current suspension of tariffs on US products on April 1 and will also unveil a new package of countermeasures on US goods by mid-April.
The suspended tariffs apply to products ranging from boats to bourbon to motorbikes, and the European Union said it would now begin a two-week consultation to select other product categories.
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The new measures will target approximately eighteen billion euros in goods, with the overall objective to ensure that the total value of the EU measures corresponds to the increased value of trade impacted by the new US tariffs, the EU added.
The proposed target products include industrial and agricultural items, such as steel and aluminium, textiles, home appliances, plastics, sugar poultry, beef, eggs, dairy and vegetables.
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“Our countermeasures will be introduced in two phases. Starting with April 1 and fully in place as of April 13,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said in a statement.
“We are ready to engage in meaningful discussion. I have entrusted Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic to resume his negotiations to explore better solutions with the US,” she added.
