The EU has imposed tariffs on €26bn worth of US goods today (12 March), in response to president Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium entering his country.
The new measures include the reintroduction of tariffs on €8bn worth of US bourbon, jeans and motorcycles, the FT reports. Similar measures were implemented during Trump’s first term, also in response to tariffs on steel and aluminium.
There are also fresh European duties on everything from US cosmetics to soyabeans, as well as clothes, vapes and a variety of agricultural products.
The reintroduced tariffs will enter force at the beginning of April, the EU has said, while the new measures will be introduced later, in the middle of that month. They will require formal approval from member states.
‘Bad for business’
European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a statement that “tariffs are taxes” and they are “bad for business, and even worse for consumers”.
“These tariffs are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. The EU must act to protect consumers and business. The counter-measures we take today are strong but proportionate."
She added that she “deeply regrets” having to implement the new measures.
UK reaction
The UK’s business and trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, responded to Trump’s implementation of steel and aluminium tariffs today to say that it was a “disappointing” decision.
Noting that the government will “keep all options on the table” around a formal response, he said engagement with the US would continue as “we remain resolute in our support for UK industry”.
“This government is working with affected companies today, and I back industry's application to the Trade Remedies Authority to investigate what further steps might be necessary to protect UK producers.”
The director of industry body UK Steel, Gareth Stace, said that Trump needed to remember that “we’re his friend, not his foe”, adding that the tariffs “couldn’t come at a worse time” as the UK industry struggles with a rapid rise in steel imports to the country.
The Chartered Institute perspective
The Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade’s director of EU public affairs, Fergus McReynolds, said that the EU’s decision “mirrors its strategic approach during previous tariff disputes”.
“The selective targeting of iconic American products aims to exert pressure on key US industries and leverage economic influence. The EU's readiness to engage in negotiations underscores a desire to avoid a full-scale trade war, but the effectiveness of this stance depends on reciprocal willingness from the US.”
McReynolds also noted that the UK, despite its disappointment, has yet to introduce any of its own retaliatory measures.
“Instead, the UK is pursuing a pragmatic approach, rapidly negotiating a wider economic agreement with the US to eliminate additional tariffs.
“Understanding how these diverging approaches will affect the UK-EU reset, and not least trade into and out of Northern Ireland, is crucial.”
Canada climbdown
Another country likely to be particularly sensitive to the effects of US tariffs on steel is Canada.
Plans to double the tariff on Canadian steel and aluminium to 50% were dropped by the White House yesterday (11 March), only hours after he first mooted them, as reported by the FT.
The climbdown was in response to the suspension of a 25% surcharge on electricity exported from the Canadian province of Ontario to the US. Doug Ford, the Ontario premier, said that “we will not back down”, and that “pausing some tariffs, last-minute exemptions: it won’t cut it”.
Incoming Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said Trump’s tariffs are “an attack on Canadian workers, families and businesses”, and vowed to “ensure our response has maximum impact in the US and minimal impact here in Canada”.
