EU countries overwhelmingly approved retaliatory tariffs targeting €93 billion worth of US goods on Thursday, as the bloc seeks to pile pressure on Washington to agree a trade deal that would lower Donald Trump’s threatened blanket levy from 30% to 15%.
All member states except for Hungary voted in favour of the European Commission’s proposed list, which would hit a wide range of American goods, including aircraft, cars, wine, and medical and electrical equipment. The duties will enter into effect on 7 August if no deal is agreed.
The €93 billion list comprises two previously separate packages that Brussels merged earlier on Wednesday to make its US countermeasures “clearer, simpler, and stronger”, as the bloc races to strike an agreement with Washington before Trump’s 30% tariff on EU goods enters into force on 1 August.
The US president has already imposed a 50% tariff on steel and aluminium, a 25% duty on cars and car parts, and a 10% baseline levy that currently affects €370 billion worth of EU goods, or 70% of the bloc’s total exports to the US. Brussels has not previously retaliated against Trump’s tariffs.
Thursday’s vote also comes amid growing expectations that the EU could strike a deal similar to the one Washington recently agreed with Japan, which left a 15% baseline in place. The deal also lowered the US car tariff for Japanese automakers to 15% but left the 50% metals duties in force.
EU diplomats believe the 15% baseline would include the 4.8% average duty faced by EU exports prior to Trump’s return to the White House in January, thus effectively leaving the status quo in place. Trump’s 10% blanket tariff comes on top of the 4.8% levy.
In addition to the €93 billion package, the Commission is also preparing a separate list targeting US services, a senior Commission official told MEPs last week.
One person familiar with the matter said the package, which again would only be imposed if no deal is agreed, would include export controls and restrictions on US firms’ access to Europe’s public procurement market.
Meanwhile, Olof Gill, Commission spokesperson for trade, told reporters on Thursday that Brussels believes a deal with Washington is “within reach”.
“We are working […] to deliver that for EU citizens, for EU companies, for EU consumers,” he said.
Gill added that the €93 billion package could be suspended if a deal is agreed, but that the Commission is currently “focused on negotiations” with the US.
UPDATE: This article has been updated to include comments from the European Commission’s spokesperson.
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