EU retaliates against Trump's trade moves and slaps tariffs on produce from Republican states

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 12, 2025 7:29 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The European Union connected Wednesday announced retaliatory commercialized enactment with caller duties connected U.S. concern and workplace products, responding wrong hours to the Trump administration's summation successful tariffs connected each alloy and aluminum imports to 25 per cent.

The world's biggest trading bloc was expecting the U.S. tariffs and prepared successful advance, but the measures inactive spot large strain connected already tense transatlantic relations. Only past month, Washington warned Europe that it would person to instrumentality attraction of its ain information successful the future.

The EU measures volition screen goods from the United States worthy immoderate 26 cardinal euros ($40 cardinal Cdn) — and not conscionable alloy and aluminum products. Textiles, location appliances, cultivation goods volition beryllium deed with tariffs, arsenic volition motorcycles, bourbon, peanut food and jeans, the second of which were besides taxed during U.S. President Donald Trump's archetypal term.

The EU duties purpose for unit points successful the U.S. portion minimizing further harm to Europe. The tariffs — taxes connected imports — chiefly people Republican-held states, hitting soybeans successful House Speaker Mike Johnson's Louisiana, and besides beef and poultry successful Kansas and Nebraska. Produce successful Alabama, Georgia and Virginia is besides connected the list.

The European Commission, which manages commercialized and commercialized conflicts connected behalf of the 27 EU subordinate countries, said leather goods and cultivation products beyond beef and poultry would beryllium hit, including some seafood, nuts, eggs, sweetener and vegetables.

Tariffs 'not successful our communal interest'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said successful a connection that the bloc "will ever stay unfastened to negotiation."

"As the U.S. are applying tariffs worthy 28 cardinal dollars, we are responding with countermeasures worthy 26 cardinal euros," she said. "We firmly judge that successful a satellite fraught with geopolitical and economical uncertainties, it is not successful our communal involvement to load our economies with tariffs."

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Trump said his taxes would assistance make U.S. mill jobs, but von der Leyen said: "Jobs are astatine stake. Prices volition spell up. In Europe and successful the United States."

"We profoundly regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They are atrocious for business and adjacent worse for consumers. These tariffs are disrupting proviso chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy," she said.

The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU said the U.S. tariffs and EU countermeasures "will lone harm jobs, prosperity and information connected some sides of the Atlantic."

"The 2 sides indispensable de-escalate and find a negotiated result urgently," the enclosure said Wednesday.

A repetition of Trump's 1st term

Trump slapped akin tariffs connected EU alloy and aluminum during his archetypal word successful office, which enraged European and different allies. The EU besides imposed countermeasures successful retaliation astatine the time.

This time, the EU enactment volition impact 2 steps. First, connected April 1, the committee volition reintroduce what it calls "rebalancing measures," which the EU had from 2018 and 2020 but were past suspended nether the Biden administration. Then connected April 13 travel the further duties targeting 18 cardinal euros ($19.6 billion) successful U.S. exports to the bloc.

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EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic travelled to Washington past period successful an effort to caput disconnected the tariffs, gathering with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and different apical commercialized officials.

He said connected Wednesday that it became wide during the travel "that the EU is not the problem."

"I argued to debar the unnecessary load of measures and countermeasures, but you request a spouse for that. You request some hands to clap," Sefcovic told reporters astatine the European Parliament successful Strasbourg, France.

European alloy companies brace for losses

The EU could suffer up to 3.7 cardinal tons of alloy exports, according to the European alloy relation Eurofer. The U.S. is the second-biggest export marketplace for EU alloy producers, representing 16 per cent of the full EU alloy exports.

The EU estimates that yearly commercialized measurement betwixt some sides stands astatine astir $1.5 trillion US, representing immoderate 30 per cent of planetary trade. While the bloc has a important export surplus successful goods, it says that is partially offset by the U.S. surplus successful the commercialized of services.

Britain, which isn't portion of the EU, meantime said it won't enforce retaliatory measures of its ain connected the U.S.