BRUSSELS — The EU can apply retaliatory tariffs on around €22 billion of U.S. products like soybeans, motorcycles and orange juice after the bloc’s 27 countries assented to the measures on Wednesday, two diplomats told POLITICO.
Hitting back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, the European Union’s countermeasures will apply in three rounds. After some go into force next week, others will apply from mid-May and the final round follows in December.
Fourteen EU countries would have needed to vote against the retaliation, which had been seen as unlikely considering the shows of unity in recent weeks.
The retaliation does not yet respond to Trump’s imposition of 20 percent “reciprocal” tariffs on all EU exports, which came into force on Wednesday, and his latest 25 percent tariff on cars. Trump has also said tariffs on pharmaceuticals are coming soon.
The European Commission is considering putting forward its countermeasures on those tariffs as early as next week. “It will for sure be soon. I expect it could be as early as next week,” trade spokesperson Olof Gill said Tuesday.
Trump demands that the EU reduce its trade surplus with the U.S., for instance by buying unrealistic amounts of gas or lowering safety standards on cars.
While Europe indeed sells more goods to Americans, the U.S. in turn enjoys a surplus when it comes to services. Overall, the €1.3 trillion trade relationship is off by only some €50 billion. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this week revived the idea of scrapping all industrial tariffs — in a “zero-for-zero” deal — on a mutual basis.
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