by Philip Blenkinsop
Brussels (Reuters) – The European Union (EU) countries should approve on Wednesday a first series of customs duties retaliation measures implemented by the United States, thus joining China and Canada in their responses and supplying fears of an extension on a global business warfare triggered by Donald Trump.
The examination of these measures comes on the day of the entry into force of the so-called “reciprocal” customs rights announced a week ago by the American president, applied to the EU and dozens of countries, which include 104% levies on Chinese products imported into the United States and cause a new fall in the financial markets on Wednesday.
The 27 EU member states are faced with 25% customs duties on steel, aluminum and cars, as well as new samples of the same kind of 20% on almost all other products, Donald Trump having the aim of hitting the countries which, according to him, impose high barriers to American imports.
The European Commission, which coordinates the EU trade policy, proposed additional customs duties on Monday on a series of American imports – most of them – in order to retaliate to the levies on metals. She still studies her response to customs duties on the automobile and “reciprocal” samples.
The American imports include motorcycles, poultry, fruits, wood, clothing or even dental thread, according to a document consulted by Reuters.
They represented an amount of around 21 billion euros ($ 23 billion) last year, which means that EU reprisals will relate to a value below 26 billion euros in European metals exports struck by American customs duties.
The response of the EU must enter into force in stages: April 15, May 16 and December 1.
A Commercial Committee Committee of the 27 EU countries will vote on Wednesday afternoon on the commission’s proposal, which will only be blocked if a majority qualified by 15 members of the block representing 65% of the population decides.
Such a blockage is unlikely since the Commission has already surveyed the members of the EU and refined an initial list in mid-March, removing from the American dairy and alcohol products.
The main wine exporters, France and Italy, expressed their concern after Donald Trump threatened to impose European people with a 200% customs right if the EU was implementing its 50% sample project on the Bourbon of Kentucky.
Donald Trump has already reacted to the reprisals announced by Beijing last week by almost doubling customs duties on Chinese imports. China said it had to “fight to the end”.
(Written by Philip Blenkinsop, Benjamin Mallet, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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