By Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – From dental floss to diamonds, bathrobes to bourbon, the U.S. products chosen by the European Union for counter-tariffs next month are designed to make workers in Republican-voting states and businesses questions U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policy.
The European Commission plans to impose extra duties on up to 26 billion euros ($28.4 billion) of U.S. imports in response to U.S. 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium and has drawn up a list of products.
This is the plan.
WHAT IS THE EU RESPONDING TO?
Trump has reinstated 2018 tariffs on steel and aluminium semi-finished and finished products, such as steel pipes and tin foil.
Washington has also raised the rate applicable on aluminium to 25% from 10%, removed multiple exemptions and extended the tariffs to cover products made from the metals, including cookware, window frames, machinery, gym equipment and furniture.
WHICH MEASURES WILL EU IMPOSE FIRST?
The EU responded in 2018 to Trump’s tariffs, which it said affected 6.4 billion euros of EU metal shipments, with duties on 2.8 billion euros of U.S. imports. Tariffs on a further 3.6 billion euros of imports were due to take effect three years later, but were suspended as President Joe Biden and the bloc agreed a truce.
The suspension runs to March 31, so these tariffs will automatically reapply on April 1, targeting U.S. products including steel and aluminium, bourbon, motorcycles and orange juice.
The EU says the U.S. tariffs will impact 8 billion euros of EU steel and aluminium exports. The counter-measures correspond to 4.5 billion euros, a lower value than before due to Britain’s exit from the EU and because of an overall decline in U.S. shipments of the listed products.
The tariff rates vary from 10% to 50%, the latter applying to dishwashers and washing machines, trousers, blankets and ceramic tableware. For bourbon, motorcycles and motor boats, they would also double to 50%.
WHICH NEW PRODUCTS ARE THE EU TARGETTING?
The Commission, which coordinates EU trade policy, has also drawn up another list of U.S. imports valued at 21 billion euros. It plans to narrow that down to 18 billion euros worth and impose tariffs on them on April 13.
The list includes poultry, other meat, dairy products, fruit, cereals, vegetable oils, beer, wines, wood, carpets, clothing and glassware, as well as chewing gum, dental floss, diamonds, lawn mowers, vacuum cleaners and toilet paper.
EU officials said the list is designed to include products of a high iconic or symbolic value, minimising pain to the EU and more focused on Republican states, such as Louisiana, a soybean producer and home to House speaker Mike Johnson, or Kansas and Nebraska, both meat and poultry producers.
EU consumers have alternative soybean suppliers, such as Argentina and Brazil.
WHICH COMPANIES COULD BE AFFECTED?
Hitting a wide range of products could also make U.S. businesses press Washington to dial back its trade war, officials hope.
U.S. producers of the affected goods include Whirlpool, Stanley Black & Decker, Mohawk Industries, Harley-Davidson, Ralph Lauren, Tyson Foods and Archer-Daniels-Midland.
The Commission will seek comments from businesses and other interested groups for the next two weeks and then put a final list to the 27 EU members. Products on that list will be subject to tariffs by April 13 unless a ‘qualified majority’ of 15 EU members oppose it.
EU officials said they could increase the value of U.S. imports subject to tariffs to the full 26 billion euros, matching U.S. measures, at a later stage.
($1 = 0.9159 euros)
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Additional reporting Tiffany Vermeylen and Josephine Mason; Editing by Toby Chopra)
