The European Union has confirmed it plans to target some €2.8bn of annual US imports with punitive tariffs as it gears up its retaliation against Washington’s decision to hit European steel and aluminium with additional duties.
The European Commission said on Wednesday that it had decided to press ahead with imposing extra duties on a list of US products it prepared several weeks ago in response to Donald Trump’s tariff threat.
The US decision on May 31 to hit EU exports with a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium was “unilateral and illegal,” Maros Sefcovic, one of the commission’s vice presidents, said, adding that it necessitated an EU response.