EU member states agree to impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods
EU member states have formally given the green light to retaliate against US tariffs on steel and aluminium, the European Commission announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Member states backed a Commission proposal to impose additional duties of between 10 and 25 per cent on a range of US exports. According to diplomatic sources, only Hungary voted against the measure.
While the full list of affected products has not yet been published, it includes motorcycles, textiles, plastic products, household electrical appliances and beauty products, as well as agricultural products. The final list is expected to be published within a few days.
The first levies will be collected from 15 April, with the largest group of products following in mid-May. Duties on soybeans and almonds, among others, will be collected in early December.
First response
The measures are the EU's response to US tariffs of up to 25 per cent on steel and aluminium that have been in place since 12 March. They threaten to hit around 26 billion euros of European exports. The EU's tariffs will impact between 20 and 22 billion euros of US exports.
Europe's list of tariffs is smaller than originally planned. For example, bourbon was removed at the insistence of countries such as France and Italy. Trump had threatened tariffs of up to 200 percent on European wines and spirits if the EU targeted this US export.
The Commission on Wednesday reiterated its preference for a negotiated solution to the escalating trade dispute. "These countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the US agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome," it stressed.
"These countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the US agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome"
Since the steel and aluminium tariffs, Trump has also introduced additional levies that could affect up to 350 billion euros of European exports. Early next week, the Commission will formulate its response to these tariffs.
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