The European Union will begin imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products next week in response to President Donald Trump's sweeping trade measures, joining other global powers in escalating a trade conflict.
The European Union will launch its first countermeasures against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs next week, the bloc's members agreed on Wednesday, joining China and Canada in retaliating and escalating a global trade conflict.
The approval came on the day that Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs on the EU and dozens of countries took effect, including massive 104% duties on China, extending his tariff onslaught and spurring more widespread selling across financial markets.
The 27-nation bloc faces 25% import tariffs on steel and aluminium and cars as well as the new broader tariffs of 20% for almost all other goods under Trump's policy to hit countries he says impose high barriers to U.S. imports.
The European Union will put in place duties mostly of 25% on a range of U.S. imports from next Tuesday in response specifically to the U.S. metals tariffs. The bloc is still assessing how to respond to the car and broader levies.
The U.S. imports include maize, wheat, barley, rice, motorcycles, poultry, fruit, wood, clothing and dental floss, according to a document seen by Reuters. They totalled about 21 billion euros ($23 billion) last year, meaning the EU's retaliation will be against goods worth less than the 26 billion euros of EU metals exports hit by U.S. tariffs.
They are to enter force in stages - on April 15, May 16 and a final stage on almonds and soy beans on December 1.
"These countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the US agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome," the European Commission said in a statement.
A committee of trade experts from the EU's 27 countries voted on Wednesday afternoon on the Commission's proposal. EU diplomats said that 26 EU members had voted in favour, with only Hungary against.
The result of the vote was widely expected given the Commission has already canvassed EU members and refined an initial list from mid-March, removing U.S. dairy and alcoholic drinks.
Major wine exporters France and Italy had expressed concern after Trump threatened to hit EU wine and spirits with a 200% tariff if the EU went ahead with its planned 50% duty on bourbon.
Trump has already responded to Beijing's counter-tariffs announced last week, nearly doubling duties on Chinese imports. In response to that, China said it would impose 84% tariffs on U.S. goods from Thursday.
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Transport and Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Works have reached an agreement on the construction of a new railway line to c...
Two of China’s biggest electric-vehicle makers may have to return a combined 373 million yuan (about $53 million) in state aid after a government au...
Uzbekistan and the State of Eritrea signed a Joint Communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations through their respective UN Missions....
China said it is ready to "continuously" boost strategic coordination with Moscow. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russian counterpart Sergey La...
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malaysia, calling the talks 'positive and constructive' despite growing te...
Two of China’s biggest electric-vehicle makers may have to return a combined 373 million yuan (about $53 million) in state aid after a government audit said nearly 22,000 cars sold up to 2020 should never have qualified for clean-energy incentives.
China said it is ready to "continuously" boost strategic coordination with Moscow. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday that Beijing is prepared to help safeguard both countries’ security and development interests.
Russia’s health watchdog said on Friday it is monitoring an anthrax outbreak in Kazakhstan’s Akmola region, where two villages were quarantined after infections in cattle and local residents.
Belarus will play an active part in next month’s United Nations conference for landlocked developing countries in Turkmenistan, Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhenkov told his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredov during a telephone call on Thursday.
Australian researchers have pioneered a low-cost and scalable plasma-based method to produce ammonia gas directly from air, offering a green alternative to the traditional fossil fuel-dependent Haber-Bosch process.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
A deadly mass shooting early on Monday (7 July) in Philadelphia's Grays Ferry neighbourhood left three men dead and nine others wounded, including teenagers, as more than 100 shots were fired.
On July 4, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Khankendi, reaffirming the deep-rooted alliance between the two nations.
The 17th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was successfully held in Khankendi, Azerbaijan, highlighting the region’s revival and the deepening economic cooperation among member states.
France recorded over 100 drowning deaths in just one month — a 58% rise from last year — as unusually high temperatures drove more people to water, public health officials say.
Germany’s public debt is projected to climb from 62.5% to 74% of GDP by 2030, driven by record defence and infrastructure spending, according to a report by the European rating agency Scope.
Migration offset natural decline for the fourth consecutive year, pushing the European Union’s population to an historic high of 450.4 million in 2024, according to Eurostat figures released on Friday.
The global oil market may be tighter than headline supply-demand figures suggest, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Friday, citing rising refinery activity and seasonal summer demand as key drivers of short-term market pressure.
China’s exports are expected to have grown 5% in June as manufacturers hurried goods abroad ahead of a 12 August deadline that could see the U.S. restore punitive tariffs, a Reuters survey of economists indicates.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment