EU Commission proposes 25% counter-tariffs on some US imports, document shows

By Julia Payne

The European Commission proposed counter-tariffs of 25 per cent on a range of US goods on Monday in response to president Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium, a document seen by Reuters showed.

The tariffs on some goods will take effect May 16th and others later in the year, on December 1st, the document said.

The goods are wide-ranging and include diamonds, eggs, dental floss, sausages and poultry. The counter-tariffs on almonds and soybeans will take effect on December 1st.

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said earlier on Monday the counter-tariffs would have less impact than the previously announced €26 billion.

Bourbon, wine and dairy have been removed from the original list the Commission was weighing in March.

The Commission had earmarked a 50 per cent tariff on bourbon, which had prompted Mr Trump to threaten a 200 per cent counter-tariff on EU alcoholic drinks if the bloc went ahead.

Mr Trump's threat worried and Italy in particular owing to their significant wine industries.

In addition to these counter-tariffs, the EU already tightened existing safeguards on steel on April 1st to reduce imports by 15 per cent. The Commission is also looking at import quotas for aluminium.

EU member states are due to vote on this proposal on April 9th.