Now that almost a month has passed since the start of the tariff truce between the EU and the United States (see EUROPE 16618/1) and a negotiated solution has still not yet been found, the European Commission wants to show what it has up its sleeve should the talks fail. It plans to present a list of countermeasures this week in response to the US automotive tariffs and the 10% universal tariff that are currently in force, three sources have confirmed to Agence Europe.
This list would target American products worth a total of €100 billion and are likely to be brandished as a threat. By way of reminder, the US tariffs imposed on 3 April on European cars and car parts alone are applicable to more than €66 billion of EU exports. As for the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, they are intended to target no less than €370 billion worth of European exports, in the absence of an agreement between the EU and the United States.
The list of products will be put out to consultation for at least three weeks, and should not be adopted before the end of the tariff truce, i.e. not before the middle of July. This seems rather to be a question of the European Commission demonstrating that – in the event that the negotiations fail – it will be able to respond with measures that can hurt. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)