EU plans major countermeasures in response to US tariffs
The White House has accused America's trading partners of unfair practices and has used tariff threats as leverage in negotiations. Brussels says it is seeking a negotiated solution but is preparing countermeasures if talks fail.
The list of targeted products was finalized Thursday morning, diplomats told reporters. Hungary was the only EU member to vote against the measure, Euronews reported. The document merges two earlier lists – one of which was approved in April following US President Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs on European steel and aluminum.
Brussels decided to combine them to make the countermeasures 'clearer, simpler, and stronger,' EU trade spokesman Olof Gill told reporters earlier this week.
Russian officials have argued that the EU remains vulnerable to US pressure, portraying the bloc's leaders as weak and subservient to Washington's policy agenda. Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chair of Russian Security Council, remarked in April that as the West disengages from trade with Russia, Moscow should 'take a seat on the shore and wait for the enemy's corpse to float by. In this case, the decaying corpse of the EU economy.'
If initiated, the EU's proposed tariffs would go into effect August 7, targeting a wide range of US goods including aircraft, automobiles and auto parts, orange juice, poultry, soybeans, steel, aluminum, and yachts. Bourbon whiskey was also included 'despite intense lobbying by France and Ireland,' who feared US retaliation against their own wine and spirits exports, according to Euronews.
Reuters reported that the EU hopes to reach a framework agreement similar to the one struck between the US and Japan. Under the potential arrangement, the 15% US tariff would remain in place, but some industries – including aircraft, lumber, select medicines, and agricultural products – would be granted exemptions, the outlet said.
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