The EU has announced a raft of retaliatory tariffs on a range of US products, which include food, drink and agricultural items.
The announcement came after the US’s imposition of 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium on a range of trading partners, including the EU.
The targeted tariffs will focus on key US food exports such as bourbon and peanut butter, as well as agricultural exports including beef, poultry, seafood, soybeans, nuts, eggs, dairy, sugar, vegetables, and live birds.
Many of the tariffs imposed were initially part of a ‘rebalancing’ package which the EU imposed in 2018, during president Donald Trump’s first term in office, and a further package it had planned to impose in 2021. These were followed by an additional planned set of measures in 2020.
These measures were initially drawn up in response to US tariffs imposed at the time. All were eventually suspended until 31 March 2025.
On 1 April, both packages of tariffs will immediately come into force following the end of the suspension period.
Added to them will be a package of additional tariffs, targeting a further €18 billion worth of US goods, which will come into force on 13 April. They will, in total, target €26bn worth of US goods.
“The trade relations between the European Union and the United States are the biggest in the world,” said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in a statement.
“They have brought prosperity and security to millions of people. And trade has created millions of good jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. As of this morning, the United States is applying a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminium. We deeply regret this measure.
“Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and worse for consumers. They are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. Nobody needs that – on both sides, neither in the European Union nor in the United States.
“The European Union must act to protect consumers and business. The countermeasures we take today are strong but proportionate. As the United States are applying tariffs worth $28bn, we are responding with countermeasures worth €26bn. This matches the economic scope of the tariffs from the United States.”
Trump’s response
Since the announcement, President Trump has responded with tariff threats of his own.
The US will, Trump stated on Thursday, respond with 200% tariffs on EU alcohol imports if the EU does not remove its own tariff on US whiskey.
Posting on truth social, the President stated “if this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES. This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S."
Shortly after the post, shares in major EU spirits makers dropped.
