Released March 24, 2025 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The European Union (EU) has retaliated to U.S. trade tariffs on its steel and aluminum industries with a series of countermeasures that will impact up to 26 billion euro worth (US$28.4 billion) of U.S. goods.
The measures, affecting a range of industrial and agricultural products, will start to take effect on April 1 and be fully implemented by April 13, the European Commission (EC) announced. It intends to automatically reinstate the "currently suspended rebalancing measures from 2018 and 2020," effectively targeting 4.5 billion euro (US$4.9 billion) worth of U.S. goods exported to Europe, including iconic products such as bourbon, jeans and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Secondly, the Commission will soon announce a package of additional "countermeasures" that will apply to 18 billion euro (US$19.6 billion) of U.S. exports to the EU.
"The European Union must act to protect consumers and business," said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "The countermeasures we take today are strong but proportionate. As the United States are applying tariffs worth US$28 billion, we are responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euro. This matches the economic scope of the tariffs from the United States. The trade relations between the European Union and the United States are the biggest in the world. They have brought prosperity and security to millions of people. And trade has created millions of good jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. The United States is applying a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminium. We deeply regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and worse for consumers. They are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. Nobody needs that -- on both sides, neither in the European Union nor in the United States."
The current scale of the European response is much larger than its response to a similar situation during the first Presidency of Donald Trump. For additional information, see June 11, 2018, article - Europe, Canada Strike Back with Tariffs on U.S. Goods. The Commission confirmed that as well as tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum, there will be tariffs on textiles, leather goods, home appliances, household tools, plastics and wood. Agricultural products--including poultry, beef, some seafood, nuts, eggs, sugar and vegetables--also will be hit.
The European Steel Association (EUROFER) said that the imposition of a 25% blanket tariff by the U.S. on all steel imports exacerbates an already "dire market environment" for the European steel industry and poses a genuine threat to its future. Industrial Info is tracking more than 670 steel-related projects in Europe worth almost US$48 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.
"President Trump's 'America First' policy threatens to be a final nail in the coffin of the European steel industry," said Dr. Henrik Adam, President of EUROFER. "If European steel disappears, so too does European automotive, European security and defence, energy infrastructure, transportation and others. What is at stake is European sovereignty. Under the first Trump administration, we already witnessed the huge impact of Section 232. EU steel exports to the U.S. decreased by over 1 million tonnes, while for every three tonnes of steel deflected from the U.S. market because of Section 232, two tonnes arrived in the EU."
He added: "Simply put, while all other countries - today the U.S. - protect their national steel production, the EU has had the most vulnerable market in the world. Our producers already face the highest energy prices while having the highest climate ambition. Meanwhile, they are being undercut by cheaper, more carbon-intensive foreign imports."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The measures, affecting a range of industrial and agricultural products, will start to take effect on April 1 and be fully implemented by April 13, the European Commission (EC) announced. It intends to automatically reinstate the "currently suspended rebalancing measures from 2018 and 2020," effectively targeting 4.5 billion euro (US$4.9 billion) worth of U.S. goods exported to Europe, including iconic products such as bourbon, jeans and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Secondly, the Commission will soon announce a package of additional "countermeasures" that will apply to 18 billion euro (US$19.6 billion) of U.S. exports to the EU.
"The European Union must act to protect consumers and business," said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "The countermeasures we take today are strong but proportionate. As the United States are applying tariffs worth US$28 billion, we are responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euro. This matches the economic scope of the tariffs from the United States. The trade relations between the European Union and the United States are the biggest in the world. They have brought prosperity and security to millions of people. And trade has created millions of good jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. The United States is applying a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminium. We deeply regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and worse for consumers. They are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. Nobody needs that -- on both sides, neither in the European Union nor in the United States."
The current scale of the European response is much larger than its response to a similar situation during the first Presidency of Donald Trump. For additional information, see June 11, 2018, article - Europe, Canada Strike Back with Tariffs on U.S. Goods. The Commission confirmed that as well as tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum, there will be tariffs on textiles, leather goods, home appliances, household tools, plastics and wood. Agricultural products--including poultry, beef, some seafood, nuts, eggs, sugar and vegetables--also will be hit.
The European Steel Association (EUROFER) said that the imposition of a 25% blanket tariff by the U.S. on all steel imports exacerbates an already "dire market environment" for the European steel industry and poses a genuine threat to its future. Industrial Info is tracking more than 670 steel-related projects in Europe worth almost US$48 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.
"President Trump's 'America First' policy threatens to be a final nail in the coffin of the European steel industry," said Dr. Henrik Adam, President of EUROFER. "If European steel disappears, so too does European automotive, European security and defence, energy infrastructure, transportation and others. What is at stake is European sovereignty. Under the first Trump administration, we already witnessed the huge impact of Section 232. EU steel exports to the U.S. decreased by over 1 million tonnes, while for every three tonnes of steel deflected from the U.S. market because of Section 232, two tonnes arrived in the EU."
He added: "Simply put, while all other countries - today the U.S. - protect their national steel production, the EU has had the most vulnerable market in the world. Our producers already face the highest energy prices while having the highest climate ambition. Meanwhile, they are being undercut by cheaper, more carbon-intensive foreign imports."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
