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The EU has retaliated against the 25 percent tariff tariffs of Donald Trump in steel and aluminum within hours of them coming into force, escalating a trade war that has shocked financial markets and threatens the global economy.
The European Commission said its measures would affect the 26BN of US goods, matching US tariffs on European exports and would come into force in April, leaving some time to negotiate with Washington.
European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen said the EU regretted Trump’s decision and that the tariffs were “bad for business, and even worse for consumers”.
“These tariffs are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty to the economy. Jobs are at risk. Price will grow,” Von der Leyen said.
Brussels withdrew after US tariffs came into force Wednesday after Trump continued with his protectionist trading agenda, despite being worried about the risk of an internal recession.
The measure to impose tariffs followed a tumultuous day at Wall Street while the spectrum of a war in depth and the irregular tariff administration policy shocked investors.
As part of his revenge, Brussels has restored the measures presented during Trump’s first term to US exports and will take effect on April 1. These include taxes of products such as whiskey Bourbon, jeans and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.
The EU has also drafted taxes on another € 18 billion of American goods, which may include cosmetics, clothes, shoes, fresh oranges, vapors and soybeans and other agricultural products. These still require approval from EU countries and would take effect in the middle of next month.
Trump’s tariffs are the latest Salvo in an aggressive trade policy that the president has said will strengthen US production and penalize the countries he claims have removed America.
Last month the president announced last month that he would impose tasks on metals, removing the agreements made between his predecessor Joe Biden and US trade partners to allow certain quantities of steel and aluminum to enter the country’s duties.
US administration officials have adapted the action as a response to “foreign players” that they say are responsible for “rising exports” of metals in America undergoing local manufacturers.
Trump has also expanded metal tariffs to apply to a wide range of products containing steel and aluminum, including tennis rockets, exercise bicycles, furniture and air conditioning units.
UK secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the fees were “disappointing”, but Britain did not respond with immediate countermeasures.
Although the US was the second largest export market of the UK industry, Reynolds said the government was “focused on a pragmatic approach” while seeking to negotiate a wider economic agreement with the White House.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday said the tariffs were “fully unjustified” and “against the” spirit of “sustainable friendship” of nations.
Australia was released from similar tariffs implemented during Trump’s first term, and the country’s steel manufacturers supply US protection and production sectors.
“This is not a friendly act,” Albanese said.
The full list of steel and aluminum products undergoing taxes represented $ 151 billion imported goods in 2024, according to an analysis by Simon Events and Johannes Fritz of St Gallen Endowment for prosperity through trade.
Ted Murphy, a partner at the Sidley Austin legal firm, said Trump’s new metal tariffs represented a “big change” from his approach when he introduced similar taxes in 2018 and allowed exemptions for some products.
“Product exemptions were verified through a US government process to confirm the products were not available in the US,” Austin said. “So getting this means that many people will have to pay the fee because they can’t derive these products domestically.”
On Tuesday, Trump announced that it would double the tariffs applied to Steel and Aluminum imports from Canada to 50 percent, marking an escalation in his trade fight with one of the three leading US trade partners before changing the course later during the day.
The Canadian province of Ontario, which had announced on Monday an additional 25 percent of the Energy exported to the US, on Tuesday said it would suspend the charge in an attempt to cross the Tit-Tat fees.
Additional reporting from Nic Fildes to Sydney and Andy Bounds in Brussels and George Parker in London
