EU Proposes $107 Billion Countermeasure to US Trade Tariffs

American wine, fish, aircraft, cars and car parts, chemicals, electrical equipment, health products, and machinery are targeted.

U.S. and European Union flags at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 20, 2017. Francois Lenoir/Reuters

The European Commission has proposed countermeasures on up to $107.2 billion (95 billion euros) worth of American imports if negotiations with Washington fail to remove the U.S. tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed.

The new measures, if approved, will be the European Union’s response to U.S. import levies on cars and its reciprocal tariffs and would target American wine, fish, aircraft, cars and car parts, chemicals, electrical equipment, health products, and machinery.

The European Commission, which acts as the 27-nation bloc’s executive branch, stated that it was launching a public consultation on June 10 for EU members and businesses to react to the proposals.

After that, the commission will then make a final decision on its countermeasures.

“Tariffs are already having a negative impact on the global economies,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.

“The EU remains fully committed to finding negotiated outcomes with the United States. We believe there are good deals to be made for the benefit of consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”

However, she said that the EU was still “preparing for all possibilities, and that the consultation had been launched to help ”guide us in this necessary work.”

The EU faces 25 percent tariffs on its steel, aluminum, and cars as well as a 10 percent tariff on almost all other goods, a levy that could rise to 20 percent after the expiration of Trump’s 90-day pause of reciprocal tariffs on July 8.

The commission, which coordinates trade policy for the bloc, has repeatedly stated that it would prefer a negotiated settlement rather than tit-for-tat tariffs.

During April, the EU approved duties of mostly 25 percent on American imports amounting to $23.6 billion (21 billion euros) on goods such as maize, wheat, motorcycles, and clothing.

These duties, a response to U.S. metals tariffs, were suspended before coming into force after Washington announced the pause.

The commission has stated that U.S. tariffs now cover $428 billion (380 billion euros) worth, or about 70 percent, of EU goods imported into the United States, which could rise to 97 percent after further U.S. investigations into pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, critical minerals, and trucks.

Pharmaceutical products or semiconductors are on the EU’s suggested list.

The commission is encouraging affected businesses to offer their views.

At a consultation held in March on countermeasures against U.S. metals tariffs, the commission received 660 responses.

The EU’s potential countermeasures won’t match the volume of products covered by Washington’s tariffs because EU imports are far less than its exports to the United States, at $377 billion (335 billion euros) versus $599 billion (532 billion euros) in 2024.

EU officials said the bloc wanted to deliver a proportionate response, not escalate the conflict.

In contrast to goods, the United States does have a trade surplus with the EU in services.

The commission stated that it was also looking into placing export restrictions on $4.9 billion (4.4 billion euros) worth of scrap steel and chemical products across the Atlantic.

Scrap, a raw material for the steel industry, is not covered by the American metal tariffs, and there are concerns it could be sold outside the bloc.

The commission also stated that it would launch a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over Trump’s tariffs, a procedure that begins with consultations.

Maros Sefcovic, EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, who is heading up tariff negotiations with Washington, said they were launching a case at the WTO “to challenge U.S. tariffs that we consider unjustified and in clear breach of global trade rules.”

“The EU stands firm as a steadfast advocate for fair, rules-based international trade,” he said.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on May 7 that discussions between the United States and Europe were ongoing and that Washington was pushing Brussels to lower its tariffs and regulatory barriers to improve the trading relationship.

The announcement from Brussels comes the same day that Trump revealed that a trade deal had been agreed between the United States and the UK, which famously left the EU in 2020 after voting for “Brexit” in 2016.