BRUSSELS — The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action after the Trump administration officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%, with duties on industrial and agricultural products that will go into effect April 1.
“As the U.S. are applying tariffs worth 28 billion dollars, we are responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euros ($28 billion),” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
The commission manages trade and commercial conflicts on behalf of the 27 member countries.
“We will always remain open to negotiation. We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geopolitical and economic uncertainties, it is not in our common interest to burden our economies with tariffs,” von der Leyen said.
The commission also said that steel and aluminum products would be hit in return, but also textiles, leather goods, home appliances, house tools plastics and wood. Agricultural products will also be impacted — including poultry, beef, some seafood, nuts, eggs, sugar and vegetables.
President Donald Trump said his taxes would help create U.S. factory jobs, but von der Leyen said: “Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. In Europe and in the United States.”
“We deeply regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers. These tariffs are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy,” she said.
European steel companies have been bracing for losses.
“It will further worsen the situation of the European steel industry, exacerbating an already dire market environment,” Henrik Adam, president of the Eurofer European steel association, said last month.
He said the EU could lose up to 3.7 million tons of steel exports. The United States is the second biggest export market for EU steel producers, representing 16% of the total EU steel exports.
“Losing a significant part of these exports cannot be compensated by EU exports to other markets,” Adam said.
