The European Union has confirmed it is proposing to introduce tariffs on a “broad range of industrial and agricultural products” imported from the US which would be worth €95bn.
The tariffs would be implemented if EU-US trade negotiations do not result in a “mutually beneficial outcome,” it said.
The list includes aircraft, which is a potential blow to Ryanair, which has ordered planes from US manufacturer Boeing.
Also on the list is bourbon whiskey, wine, cider, cars, bicycles, boats, smartphones, cattle, soya, olives and very limited pharmaceuticals.
But there will be considerable relief in Government circles in Dublin that main pharmaceutical products do not make the draft list published today, however European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said repeatedly that every option remains on the table should the trading relationship with the US deteriorate.
Proposed countermeasures today include €6.4bn on agricultural products, €10.5bn on aircraft, €10bn on motor parts, €12.5bn on chemicals and plastics, and €7.2bn on electrical equipment.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
The European Commission said it was also consulting on “possible restrictions” on certain EU exports of steel scrap and chemical products to the US worth €4.4bn.
It said the consultation was designed to address both the US universal tariffs of 10% on EU goods and the 25% duties on cars made in the EU which it described as “unjustified and harmful”.
Ms von der Leyen said: “Tariffs are already having a negative impact on the global economies. The EU remains fully committed to finding negotiated outcomes with the US.
“We believe there are good deals to be made for the benefit of consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”
She added: “At the same time, we continue preparing for all possibilities, and the consultation launched today will help guide us in this necessary work”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who earlier met Ms von der Leyen in Brussels, said the Government will be speedily engaging with the European Commission on its list of countermeasures.
Speaking in Brussels, he said: “I anticipate that there will be similar to the last time, and we were effective on the last occasion.”
The Taoiseach said he needed to study the measures and then act.
“We will again make recommendations to the Commission, give them feedback in terms of the impact of some of the potential countermeasures,” he said.
However, he warned that the EU needed to take collective action and share the pain.
“Remember that the US, perhaps, is counting on fragmentation within the European Union. The EU doesn’t want to be in this position, and so therefore we have to work as a union as well.”
Mr Martin said he hopes most of the EU’s diplomatic energy will go into successfully negotiating a trade deal with the US rather than tariffs.
He said: “The idea that you can have a pain free response to a tariff trade war. It’s just not possible.”
Mr Martin added: “If we can get a negotiated, agreed approach, that’s the obvious route to go.”
The agenda for this morning’s meeting between Mr Martin and Ms von der Leyen included economic issues, such as improving EU competitiveness, as well as international crisis like Ukraine and Gaza.
However, the main focus was the EU’s planned response to US tariffs, with the commission publishing its proposed counter measures should trade talks fail.
The Taoiseach has repeatedly stressed Ireland’s strong desire to secure a negotiated settlement, saying in a trade war, everyone ultimately loses and the poorest lose most of all.
His meeting lasted just over an hour.
The EU is publishing its proposed countermeasures to US tariffs later today
From today, Mr Martin will be able to assess the impact such measures might have on Ireland, and seek to ameliorate any damage to the Irish economy.
