Tariffs: European Union finally deploys its first set of countermeasures
Tariffs: European Union finally deploys its first set of countermeasures
Tariffs: European Union finally deploys its first set of countermeasures
And so it begins. After revising their schedule twice, the 27 member states are finally expected to approve, on Wednesday, April 9, the first retaliatory measures against the tariff hikes imposed by Donald Trump's US since March 12. They are responding to the 25% surcharges decided by Washington on European steel and aluminum imports, valued at 26 billion euros per year.
The community retaliations target a wide range of American products – poultry, orange juice, rice, tobacco, soybeans, aluminum and steel, luxury yachts, motorcycles, diamonds, makeup products and clothing − but they remain slightly below the new US tariffs.
While the levy rate is also 25%, the base of the affected goods (22 billion euros per year) is, in fact, narrower. As they seek to "minimize the consequences for their economies," as reiterated by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Europeans struggle to agree on a response proportionate to the aggression they are facing. Fearing that the American president might execute his threats to tax European alcohol at "200%," France, Italy, and Ireland have thus ensured that Kentucky bourbon is exempt from Brussels' counter-offensive.
Moreover, while the US struck all at once, the European Union (EU) staggered its response. The first wave of new tariffs will take effect on April 15. A second – the most significant – will occur on May 16. The 27 have indeed been keen to respect the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which provide for consultation periods, while the US has not bothered with such subtleties.