The bloc will impose countermeasures on $28 billion worth of US goods starting next month
The European Commission has hit back at the latest US tariffs on EU imports, announcing what it called “swift and proportionate” countermeasures in an escalation of trade tensions.
US President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff hike on steel and aluminum supplies from the bloc took effect on Wednesday as previous exemptions, duty free quotas, and product exclusions expired.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Commission condemned Trump’s “unjustified” and disruptive tariffs, warning of their impact on transatlantic trade. The EU’s executive arm said it would impose counter-tariffs on €26 billion (over $28 billion) worth of US goods starting in April.
“Tariffs are taxes, they are bad…” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
The EU’s retaliatory measures will target industrial-grade steel and aluminum, semi-finished and finished products, and their derivative commercial products, including machinery parts and knitting needles.
The tit-for-tat move is the latest escalation in a deepening trade rift between Washington and Brussels, which has escalated since Trump pledged to impose sweeping import duties to address what he has called an unfair trade imbalance.
Last month, Trump announced plans to impose 25% levies on all imports from the EU, claiming the bloc was created to “screw” America. His tariffs target a broad range of European goods, with the auto industry expected to be among the hardest hit. The measures could deliver a significant blow to the bloc’s economic growth, Bloomberg reported this month.
A similar trade dispute unfolded during Trump’s first term, when he slapped tariffs of 25% on European steel and 10% on aluminum, prompting the EU to retaliate with countermeasures.
At the time, Trump also threatened tariffs on European cars, though they never materialized. The two sides ultimately exchanged duties on a range of goods worth a total of more than $10 billion.
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