Member states of the European Union (E.U.) have agreed to tariffs on a range of U.S. products in response to President Trump’s sweeping new import taxes.
EU states voted Wednesday to “introduce trade countermeasures” against the U.S., the European Commission said in a statement.
The retaliatory tariffs are in response to U.S. import taxes on steel and aluminum that were initiated in March, the Commission said. Duties will start being collected from European importers on April 15.
The tariffs will be levied at 25 percent, Euro News reported Wednesday, and will apply to a list of goods that includes orange juice, poultry, almonds steel and aluminum, soybeans, tobacco and yachts.
The official list of goods that will be subject to the tariffs was not immediately made public by the EU on Wednesday.
In March, the European Commission said that it was considering tariffs on about $20 billion worth of U.S. products.
Products to be targeted included a mix of industrial and agricultural goods, such as steel and aluminum products, textiles, leather goods, home appliances, house tools, plastics and wood products.
Agricultural targets were poultry, beef, certain seafood, nuts, eggs, dairy, sugar and vegetables.
The EU said Wednesday that “countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the US agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome.”
The Trump administration announced last week a general tariff of 10 percent on products imported to the U.S., the first measure of its kind in decades. It also announced dozens of targeted tariffs on top of the general tariff on particular countries, calculated using a novel method based on U.S. trade deficits with trading partners.
Trump’s new plans subject the EU to 20 percent tariffs.
While the administration has stressed the finality of its new trade measures, President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have also signalled that they’re open to negotiations with countries facing the new U.S. tariffs.
Trump said on social media Wednesday amid continued stock market volatility, “BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well.”
Trump said he was waiting for a call from China earlier this week regarding an effective 54-percent tariff levied against that country, which is one of the top three U.S. trading partners.
Trump has walked back multiple tariff orders during his trade war so far, including a 25-percent tariff on Canada and Mexico and new tariffs on small retail shipments from China worth $800 or less.
