On the day Donald Trump announced the agreement with the United Kingdom on duties, the EU Commission has drawn up a new maxi-list of counter-duties to respond to the "reciprocal" tariffs and on cars announced by the United States . A response of 100 billion that will be triggered in the absence of an agreement with Washington.
The list, open to public consultation until June 10, includes products that are symbols of American exports: from beef and pork to Alaskan cod, from SUVs and pick-ups to aircraft linked to Boeing production. Also targeted is bourbon, which has so far been spared.
After the consultation, the list may be revised and will have to be approved by member states. The EU is also considering restrictions on some exports to the US - steel scrap and chemicals - for another 4.4 billion .
A 218-page list that targets symbolic and politically sensitive sectors of the US: Kentucky bourbon, Maine lobsters, Florida citrus fruits, Texan microchips and Silicon Valley technologies . The total value of US exports potentially affected amounts to 95 billion euros: of these, 6.4 billion come from the agri-food sector - dried fruit, vegetables, preserves, wine, beer, spirits, meat and live animals from foie gras to offal, as well as juices and syrups. Another 500 million concern fishing and aquaculture, with a wide range of products, from smoked salmon to shellfish.
The largest portion - over 88 billion euros - is instead linked to industrial goods, from machine tools to electronic components . Within the industrial block, the heavyweights are well defined: 10.5 billion euros concern the aeronautical sector, including aircraft produced by Boeing; 10.3 billion are linked to automotive components, while 2 billion cover finished vehicles. Chemicals and plastics represent another key sector, with a value of 12.9 billion, followed by 7.2 billion in electronic equipment including displays, radars, video cameras, microphones and other devices. Non-pharmaceutical health products also appear for almost 10 billion, such as disposable devices such as syringes, considered easily replaceable. The machinery sector, which ranges from agricultural equipment to those for processing metals, stones and construction materials, is at the end of the list, hit for almost 12 billion.
"Tariffs are already having a negative impact on global economies. The EU remains fully committed to finding negotiated solutions with the United States. We believe that good deals can be struck that benefit consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic. At the same time, we continue to prepare for all possibilities and the consultation launched today will help us navigate this necessary work ," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen .
US-UK agreement
“The deal with London will open up markets for American agricultural products,” U.S. President Donald Trump said, speaking from the Oval Office, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer via video link. Trump said the trade deal would open up the U.K. to more U.S. products, “many billions of dollars” worth, “especially American beef, ethanol, and pretty much everything our beloved farmers produce.”
The final details, the two leaders explained, "will be defined in the coming weeks". Starmer called it a "fantastic and historic" day.
(Unioneonline/L)
