The European Union has reacted to the Trump administration’s tariffs on metals, declaring that its member states will impose retaliatory measures on approximately 26 billion euros, equivalent to around $28 billion, of goods originating from the U.S.
At midnight, the United States started applying 25% tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum from every trading partner, without any exceptions or exemptions, according to a White House announcement.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, stated that the EU “must act to protect consumers and business” in response to these measures.
“Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers,” von der Leyen remarked. “These tariffs are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. In Europe and in the United States.”
The European countermeasures were crafted to correspond to the magnitude of the U.S. tariffs, which the European Union estimated would affect about $28 billion in trade. The commission indicated that these countermeasures would commence on April 1 and be completely implemented by April 13.
“In the meantime, we will always remain open to negotiation,” von der Leyen noted.
The countermeasures consist of two phases: the first involves reinstating on April 1 a series of previously paused 2018 and 2020 countermeasures targeting a variety of U.S. products.
In the second phase, member states will introduce by mid-April additional countermeasures affecting roughly 18 billion euros worth of U.S. goods entering the European market.
These new countermeasures will focus on both industrial and agricultural items, such as steel and aluminum, household appliances, wood products, poultry, beef, and other food imports, as detailed in a fact sheet published on Wednesday.
Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s trade commissioner, emphasized that European officials would persist in collaborating with their U.S. counterparts to achieve a “win-win” resolution, but the “unjustified tariffs on our exports will not go unanswered.”
“We should be making this great relationship stronger, not weaker,” he declared in a statement.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
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