EU approves countermeasures against US duties on steel and aluminum imports

On April 9, the majority of EU member states approved the European Commission’s proposal to introduce trade countermeasures against the United States in response to US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. This is stated in the message of the EC.

“The EU considers US tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy. The EU has stated its clear preference to find negotiated outcomes with the US, which would be balanced and mutually beneficial,” the EC said in a statement.

It is noted that these countermeasures can be suspended at any time if the United States agrees to a fair and balanced outcome of the negotiations.

The retaliatory duties will apply to American goods worth about €21 billion ($23.2 billion). For most of them, they will be 25%, for some categories – 10%.

According to Euractiv, the first set of European tariffs will come into effect on April 15, with most duties to be applied from May 16. Import duties on some other products, such as soybeans and nuts, will take effect on December 1.

The European Commission initially proposed to impose duties on a wider range of goods worth €26 billion. Bourbon was removed from the list under pressure from member states after Trump threatened to impose a 200% duty on EU alcohol products.

As GMK Center reported earlier, on April 9, China raised tariffs on American goods to 84%. The Ministry of Commerce also announced that China is filing a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization over the US tariff increase (up to 104% at the time).