EU officials have said some €380 billion worth of EU exports will be hit by US President Donald Trump’s array of tariffs, amounting to some 70% of all EU exports to the United States.
Mr Trump unveiled a 10% minimum tariff on most goods imported to the United States – with a higher 20% rate for the European Union – kicking into high gear a global trade war that threatens to drive up inflation and stall US and worldwide economic growth.
EU Officials said the bloc will imminently retaliate against Mr Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium, which he announced on 12 March, but will take time to analyse the impact of last night’s range of reciprocal tariffs before deciding on further so-called countermeasures.
However, one senior official said the EU will “hit the US where it hurts”.
The European Commission estimates that the US will collect €81 billion in tariffs from European imports, compared to the €7 billion it currently collects.
“That is evidently a massive jump,” said a senior EU official.
The new US tariffs are unlawful and unjustified under World Trade Organization rules, senior officials said.
The EU’s trade experts have also cautioned against a sense of relief in Ireland that tariffs on pharmaceutical goods were not included in the tariff announcement.
Officials pointed out that the Trump administration had included pharmaceuticals in a list of five strategic sectors – including semiconductors, wood and cars – some of which have already been subject to investigations by US trade officials, which in turn led to an increase in tariffs.
One senior trade expert said the likelihood that pharmaceuticals will be singled out for similar treatment was “quite high”.
The official said: “We would be quite unsure whether one could breathe a sigh of relief that was noted yesterday.”
Watch: Washington Correspondent Sean Whelan analyses US tariff announcement
The commission has been liaising with member states on responding to the initial tariffs on steel and aluminium, with national capitals expected to vote on the EU’s response on 9 April.
On the overall reaction, officials said they are not ruling out hitting US services, intellectual property or public procurement.
“We’re not taking any options off the table today or tomorrow,” said one official.
“We are looking at things very carefully, first at the analysis and then at an effective and proportionate response,” the official added.
The comments from EU officials follow remarks by the European Commission President in which she said Mr Trump’s universal tariffs are a major blow to the world economy.
Ursula von der Leyen warned the world economy will suffer massively, adding the consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe – including some of the poorest people on the planet, and she deeply regretted the US move.
Ms von der Leyen said all businesses, big and small, will suffer from day one of the US tariff regime, and the cost of doing business with the US will drastically increase.
The EU chief said she agreed with President Trump that some countries have taken advantage of the current international trading rules, adding the EU was ready to negotiate major changes.
“I am ready to support any efforts to make the global trading system fit for the realities of the global economy,” she said, but added: “Reaching for tariffs as your first and last tool will not fix it.”
She said the EU has “always been ready to negotiate with the US to remove the remaining barriers to transatlantic trade,” and said Commission Vice President and Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič was “permanently engaged” with his US counterparts in seeking a solution.
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At the same time, the EU Commission president said the EU was ready to respond with countermeasures, should negotiations fail.
Ms Von der Leyen said the commission has finalised a package to respond to the previously announced 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium, and was now preparing a package to respond to the 20% tariff on EU products announced yesterday by President Trump.
“We are already finalising the first package of countermeasures in response to tariffs on steel,” Ms Von der Leyen said in a statement read out in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, ahead of a EU-Central Asia partnership summit.
“And we’re now preparing for further countermeasures to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail.”
Ms Von der Leyen said the commission would also look out for secondary effects of the US move, stating “we will not accept dumping on our market”.
However, the EU chief added that “it is not too late to address concerns through negotiations”.
‘Cooperation, not confrontation’
The US tariffs are “fundamentally wrong”, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, describing the move as “an attack on a trade system that has created prosperity all round the world, itself an American achievement”.
Mr Scholz called for “cooperation, not confrontation”.
“Europe will respond united, strong and proportionately to this decision,” he added.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised the tariffs and urged a deal, warning a trade war would only weaken the West.
“The introduction by the US of tariffs towards the EU is a measure that I consider wrong and that does not suit either party,” she said in a statement posted on social media.
“We will do everything we can to work for a deal with the United States, aiming to prevent a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favour of other global actors,” she added.
Ms Meloni, leader of the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party, has previously sought to avoid criticising Mr Trump, instead positioning herself as a bridge between the EU and US.
The Italian prime minister said Italy would discuss the issue with other European partners, adding that either way, “we will act in the interest of Italy and its economy”.
“Nobody wins a trade war,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said, adding such a situation “is not in our national interest”.
“We have a fair and balanced trade relationship with the US,” he said, adding negotiations are continuing on “an economic prosperity deal, one that strengthens our existing trading relationship”.
However, he added a deal will only be struck in the “national interest”.
