Topline
The European Union on Wednesday announced economic countermeasures against the U.S. worth around $28 billion, shortly after President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports went into effect.
Key Facts
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, criticized the “unjustified” U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum from the bloc and said it has launched “swift and proportionate countermeasures” that will go into effect starting April 1.
The commission said a pause on “existing 2018 and 2020 countermeasures” against the U.S. will be allowed to lapse next month and these will target “a range of US products that respond to the economic harm done on €8 billion ($8.72 billion) of EU steel and aluminum exports.”
The commission said it is also readying a new package of countermeasures that will be in response to Trump’s new tariffs affecting “more than €18 billion ($19.61 billion) of EU exports.”
This second set of countermeasures will be implemented in mid-April, after a “consultation of Member States and stakeholders.”
In total, the commission said its countermeasures will apply to U.S. exports worth up to €26 billion ($28.33 billion), “matching the economic scope of the US tariffs.”
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Crucial Quote
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said: “Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers…Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. In Europe and in the United States…The countermeasures we take today are strong but proportionate. As the U.S. are applying tariffs worth $28 billion, we are responding with countermeasures worth €26 billion.”
This is a developing story.