The European Commission has disclosed a list of potential countermeasures against tariffs imposed by the US should trade negotiations between the two parties fail to reach a mutually beneficial outcome. The measures were submitted to companies and other stakeholders for review on 8 May.
They could affect €95 billion worth of imports from the US should negotiations fail. The goods include agricultural and fishing products; aircraft; chemicals and plastics; machinery and healthcare products. The list does not include pharmaceuticals which are subject to a separate negotiation. Services are also not affected by the US tariffs.
In parallel, the EU will launch a dispute procedure at the World Trade Organization against a series of tariffs announced by the US earlier in the year. This will be directed against a US tariff of 20% on EU-specific goods and tariffs on cars and car parts. Some of these tariffs were paused in early April. Currently, €379 billion of EU exports, or 70% of the union’s exports to the US are subject to new tariffs, according to the Commission.
A Commission official told journalists that duties are not a sound basis for conducting trade. Ideally they would not be necessary. But if so, the EU needs to be ready to rebalance the relationship. Apart from specific countermeasures, this includes building trading relationships with other nations and improving the functioning of the EU’s own internal market.
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