Escalation of Global Trade War: EU Strikes Back Against US Tariffs

Following China and Canada, the EU has also started to fight back against Trump's tariff offensive, leading to a full - scale escalation of the global trade war.

On April 9th local time, EU member states voted to approve the first round of counter - tariff measures against the US. A tariff of up to 25% will be imposed on a series of American products. This round of counter - measures mainly targets the US steel and aluminum tariffs.

The EU's counter - measures will be implemented in phases. The first round will come into effect on April 15th. It is understood that the value of the goods involved in the first - round counter - measures is approximately 21 billion euros.

The European Commission issued a press release stating that the EU believes the US tariffs are unjustified and damaging, causing harm to both sides and even the global economy. The EU has clearly stated that it prefers to reach a balanced and mutually beneficial result through negotiations with the US.

The EU said that if the US agrees to reach a fair and balanced negotiation result, these counter - measures can be stopped at any time.

Precise Strikes?

According to the latest reports, these tariffs will be implemented in three batches, taking effect in mid - April, mid - May, and on December 1st respectively, targeting goods such as soybeans, diamonds, agricultural products, poultry, and motorcycles. Most of the 27 EU member states voted in favor of implementing these punitive tariffs.

The reports claim that these tariffs have obvious political targeting, aiming at products from politically sensitive states in the US, including soybeans from Louisiana (where House Speaker Mike Johnson is from), as well as diamonds, agricultural products, poultry, and motorcycles. Most of the targeted goods will face a 25% tariff, while a 10% tariff will be imposed on a few categories. Bourbon whiskey has been removed from the EU list after Trump threatened to impose a 200% tariff on wines, champagnes, and other alcoholic beverages from regions like France, highlighting the pressure from EU member states.

The Trade War Intensifies

As the US's largest trading partner, the EU's counter - attack marks a further escalation of the trade war. The US has imposed a general 20% tariff on almost all European export goods and an additional 25% tariff on cars and some auto parts. Trump also announced additional tariffs on timber, semiconductor chips, and pharmaceutical products. In total, these tariff measures will affect about 380 billion euros of EU goods.

Some analysts predict that the US tariff threats may offset most of the euro - zone's projected growth by the European Central Bank for this year and next.

Trump has been strongly criticizing the EU, saying that the EU was established to "cheat" the US, and the EU's trade surplus in goods is evidence of an unfair relationship. According to World Trade Organization data, the EU's trade - weighted average tariff rate in 2023 was 2.7%.

"The rules and regulations they set up have only one purpose: to prevent you from selling products in those countries," Trump said earlier this week. "We won't let that happen."

What Other Counter - attack Weapons Does the EU Have?

The EU is in negotiations with the US, but the progress is slow. According to a spokesperson for the European Commission, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic discussed the possible parameters of engagement on trade issues with the US counterpart late on Tuesday. However, the negotiations have made little progress so far. The reports cited people familiar with the matter as saying that US officials seem not to have received clear negotiation authorization from Trump.

The reports also said that in addition to the announced counter - measures, the European Commission, which is responsible for handling EU trade affairs, is preparing a series of counter - strategies to fight back against the so - called "reciprocal tariffs". The Commission plans to announce its plan early next week and start consultations with member states.

These general tariffs aim to target all trade barriers faced by US exports overseas, such as tariffs, domestic regulations, and taxes, including value - added tax. European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen previously said that the EU "holds many cards", including retaliatory tariffs and measures against US service and technology companies.

In addition, the EU also plans to use the "Anti - Coercion Instrument (ACI)", a "trade bazooka", targeting US service exports, such as the technology industry. The core goal of this initiative is to use the ACI to precisely target the service exports regarded as a key pillar of the US economy.