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US tariffs will hit the EU's shrinking steel industry hard.
The EU said it would respond to U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminum exports with “firm and proportionate countermeasures” as officials in Brussels rushed to avert a trade war with Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump announced that 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports would take effect on March 12.
EU member states have already approved tariffs of up to 50% on €4,8 billion of US imports and could quickly vote to implement them at the European level.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet with US Vice President J.D. Vance in Paris to discuss the issue, and trade ministers will also meet tomorrow on the issue.
The proposed tariffs on American bourbon, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, motorboats, and some steel and aluminum will automatically take effect at the end of March unless a majority of EU countries agree to do so earlier.
Brussels could also expand its “retaliation,” but von der Leyen stressed that any response would be “proportionate.” Meanwhile, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told the European Parliament that he was eager to negotiate with the United States.
