European Union Tariffs on the US Imposed

EU Imposes Tariffs on the US.
American Products to Be Affected.
Retaliation Following Trump’s Decision.

The European Union announced a series of tariffs in response to trade measures imposed by former United States President Donald Trump.

This occurred hours after Washington raised tariffs to 25% on all steel and aluminum imports.

Shortly thereafter, Brussels responded with tariffs targeted at American industrial and agricultural products.

The new tariffs impact goods worth $28 billion, including textiles, appliances, and agricultural products.

European Union Imposes Tariffs on the US

Among the impacted items are motorcycles, bourbon, jeans, and peanut butter, products that had already been targets of trade retaliation during Trump’s first term.

The measures aim to exert pressure on states controlled by Republicans.

IMPACTING KEY SECTORS: the production of soy in Louisiana, beef and poultry in Kansas and Nebraska, and agricultural products in Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that the EU remains open to dialogue.

However, she warned that the bloc would respond with equal intensity to U.S. actions.

Von der Leyen noted that tariffs create economic uncertainty and affect both businesses and consumers in both regions.

The European Commission reiterated that steel and aluminum products would be subject to the new tariffs, along with leather goods, plastics, wood, and household tools.

In the agricultural sector, the tariffs will apply to poultry, beef, seafood, nuts, eggs, sugar, and vegetables.

President Trump justified his tariffs by stating they would strengthen the US manufacturing industry and create jobs.

However, von der Leyen warned that prices would rise and that the measure would affect the stability of the labor market on both continents.

The US Chamber of Commerce in the EU expressed concern and called for a negotiated solution to avoid further damage to the global economy.

Business leaders stated that trade tensions would only harm security and prosperity in both Europe and the United States.

During his first term, Trump had already applied similar tariffs, which led to a strong reaction from the EU with retaliatory measures.

At that time, Europeans raised tariffs on iconic American products, a strategy that is repeated in this new dispute.

The new EU plan consists of two phases: on April 1st, rebalancing measures applied between 2018 and 2020 will be reintroduced.

While on April 13th, additional tariffs on US exports worth $19.6 billion will come into effect.

Maroš Šefčovič, EU Trade Commissioner, recently traveled to Washington in an attempt to avert the trade conflict.

In meetings with senior US officials, he argued that the EU is not responsible for the problem and urged avoiding measures that would only worsen the economic situation.

Šefčovič insisted on the need for bilateral dialogue to avoid a prolonged trade war.

The European steel sector is bracing for a significant negative impact, as the United States is the second-largest export market for EU steel.

According to Eurofer, the European steel association, the bloc could lose up to 3.7 million tons of exports due to the new tariffs.

Trade between the two parties amounts to approximately $1.5 trillion annually, representing about 30% of global trade.

Despite the EU’s surplus in goods exports, the United States maintains an advantage in services trade, which partly balances the trade scales.

The United Kingdom, no longer part of the EU, decided not to retaliate against the United States for these measures.

The British Secretary of Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, stated that the country will continue to collaborate with Washington to protect its commercial interests.

However, he did not rule out the possibility of future retaliation if he deems the situation warrants it.

Meanwhile, tensions between the two powers continue to rise.

And uncertainty about the impact of these tariffs on the global economy remains at the center of debate.