The EU is planning to impose tariffs on approximately 100 billion euros ($113 billion) worth of American products as a countermeasure against President Donald Trump’s extensive duties, should negotiations not succeed. This information was shared by European diplomats with AFP on Wednesday.
Since March, Trump has implemented several increased tariffs on Europe, and in his most significant action, he introduced a 20 percent tariff on most European Union products last month — just prior to declaring a 90-day truce that will end in July.
Currently, there is a standard levy of 10 percent imposed on products coming from the 27-nation European Union and various countries across the globe.
The European Union hopes to reach a deal with the United States to avoid an all-out trade war, but wants to be prepared to strike back if Trump’s tariffs kick in again.
Last week, the European Commission, responsible for EU trade policies, informed member countries that they plan to target approximately 100 billion euros worth of American products with a 20 percent tariff should talks not result in an accord. This was disclosed by two EU diplomats.
The preliminary list of products is expected to be made public on Thursday.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic told the European Parliament this week that 70 percent of the bloc’s total exports face levies at rates between 10 and 25 percent.
He warned that with US trade probes underway into a raft of sectors, from pharmaceuticals to lumber, “around 549 billion euros of EU exports to the US, i.e. 97 percent of the total” could eventually face tariffs.
EU diplomats have not specified which American goods will face measures, however, the Financial Times newspaper mentioned on Wednesday that Boeing planes could be affected.
Just one day prior, Airbus’ CEO Guillaume Faury informed AFP that Europe ought to consider imposing duties on U.S. firm’s airplane imports if negotiations do not succeed.
“If the talks do not lead to a favorable conclusion, I expect that there would be — as we hope for — retaliatory tariffs on aircraft to push for a more intense negotiation,” Faury stated.
The commission along with Boeing declined to provide comments on the FT report.
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