The European Union is expected to launch a series of counter-tariffs against US exports tomorrow, according to a top official. The move is a response to the steep duties US President Donald Trump has imposed on steel and aluminium from Europe. Canada, Mexico and other US allies have been similarly affected.
These measures will affect around €2.8bn worth of US goods. The products to see increased duties will include blue jeans, motorbikes, bourbon whiskey, cranberries, orange juice, sweetcorn and peanut butter.
Trump originally announced his plans for tariffs on steel and aluminium in March, arguing that global oversupply, driven by China, threatens US producers. The EU’s tariff announcement is in a similar vein to Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on C$16.6bn worth of US exports, due to take effect from 1 July. Mexico, meanwhile, has put tariffs on $3bn of US goods from steel to pork and bourbon.
Possible effects
Unsurprisingly, there are warnings that the US tariffs could lead to higher metal costs and disrupt supply chains, which is bad news for manufacturers relying on the supply of aluminium and steel.
Following the EU’s announcement of its tariffs, trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom stressed it did not want to be in this position, but that: ‘The unilateral and unjustified decision of the US to impose steel and aluminium tariffs on the EU means that we are left with no other choice.’