BRUSSELS: The European Union on Wednesday adopted its first retaliatory measures in response to US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, targeting more than €20 billion worth of American goods, including soybeans, motorcycles and beauty products.
The decision, approved by 26 of the EU’s 27 member states—with Hungary voting against—marks the bloc’s first formal response to US tariffs on steel and aluminium imposed last month.
According to a statement from the European Commission, the new EU duties of up to 25 percent will take effect from 15 April.
“These countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the US agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome,” the Commission said.
It added that the EU considers the US tariffs to be “unjustified and damaging,” not only to both sides of the Atlantic but also to the global economy.
The targeted goods were carefully selected to affect states with strong Republican support, and include poultry, rice, corn, fruit and nuts, wood, plastics, textiles, paintings, and electrical equipment.
While bourbon had initially appeared on the preliminary list, it was removed following lobbying by major wine exporters such as France and Italy, who feared that the US might retaliate with a 200-percent tariff on European drinks.
President Trump has also imposed a 25-percent tariff on car imports from the EU and introduced new “reciprocal” tariffs of 20 percent on European goods, which came into force on Wednesday.
A European Commission spokesperson said the bloc’s response to these latest tariffs may be announced as early as next week.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier this week proposed a bilateral tariff exemption on cars and other industrial goods, but Trump dismissed the proposal, saying the EU “has been very, very bad to us,” and insisting it would not sufficiently address the transatlantic trade imbalance.
Meanwhile, France’s foreign trade minister, Laurent Saint-Martin, urged diplomacy during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.
“We never wanted tariffs to escalate. We believe that a tariff war is harmful for everyone,” he said.
While confirming that countermeasures were now in place, he maintained that retaliatory tariffs “have never been our agenda.”
Saint-Martin called for continued talks with Washington, noting, “Under the aegis of the European Commission, we must continue the work of dialogue and negotiation with the US administration in order to achieve the most positive agenda possible.”
The retaliatory package adopted by the EU consists of two phases. The first reactivates a set of levies from Trump’s first term, previously suspended but now set to be collected starting Tuesday.
The second phase introduces new duties on a broader list of US products, most of which will take effect next month, with a few scheduled for December implementation.
The EU’s move comes amid escalating global trade tensions, as the US continues to exchange tariff threats with China and other economic powers.
While US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that countries not imposing retaliatory measures might avoid higher tariffs, the EU has signalled its readiness to protect its economic interests while remaining open to negotiation.
