European Union countries plan to speak with one voice against the new duties imposed by US President Donald Trump. The European Union may approve the first countermeasures package, affecting American goods worth up to $28 billion.
Reuters writes about this concerning its own sources.
The EU joins China and Canada, which have already imposed their own duties in response to the US ones. This will indicate an escalation of the trade conflict with the United States.
Currently, EU member states face US duties of 25% on steel, aluminum, and automobiles and “mirror” duties of 20% on almost all other goods. About 70% of European exports to the United States, worth $585 billion, are subject to duties. Soon, the US may also impose additional duties on copper, medicines, microchips, and wood.
On April 7, the European Commission will present to its member states a list of American goods to which it proposes to apply duties in response to the duties on steel and aluminum but not on all American exports. The list will include meat, grains, wine, wood, clothing, chewing gum, dental floss, vacuum cleaners, and toilet paper.
Luxembourg will host the first meeting of trade representatives from all 27 EU countries. They will discuss the consequences of Trump’s tariffs and agree on a joint response.
France wants the EU’s response to go beyond tariffs to include stopping investment in the United States. On the other hand, Ireland calls for a balanced response, as a third of its exports go to the United States. Italy doubts whether it is worth responding symmetrically at all.
Negotiations with Washington have not yielded any results so far. European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič called his talks with U.S. representatives “frank” but said that U.S. duties are “harmful and unreasonable.”
The European Commission’s proposal for the first countervailing duties will be put to a vote on April 9. Suppose it is not blocked by a qualified majority (15 countries representing 65% of the EU population). In that case, the duties will take effect in two stages: part of them on April 15 and the rest a month later.