The European Union will impose a new round of countermeasures to U.S. tariffs on April 15, per a press release from the European Commission.
EU member countries voted in favor of the implementation after the Trump administration unveiled a 20% tariff hike on the EU last week as part of the U.S.’ reciprocal tariff policy.
The EU first announced its countermeasure plans in response to the U.S.’ 25% duties on steel and aluminum imports. The EU originally said it would lift a suspension on previously installed retaliatory tariffs on April 1 and install “a package of new countermeasures” by mid-April. It later decided to take both actions on April 15.
“By aligning the timelines, the Commission consults with Member States on both lists simultaneously,” Olof Gill, a European Commission spokesperson, confirmed in a March email to Supply Chain Dive. “This provides additional time for discussions with the US administration.”
On March 31, the comission implemented the tariff delay through a notice in its official journal, saying the duties would not take effect until April 15.
The delayed retaliatory tariffs from the EU would impact goods like bourbon and motorbikes and cover up to 26 billion euros’ worth of U.S. exports. The scope of the duties is expected to match the $28 billion economic impact of the U.S.’ duties, per a March 11 press release from the commission.
Pushing back the lifting of the tariffs will not “diminish the impact of our response,” per Gill.
“Our goal is to strike the right balance of products, taking into account the interests of EU producers, exporters and consumers,” Gill said in March.
U.S. President Donald Trump in March threatened to place 200% tariffs on alcohol goods from France and other European countries, including wine and champagne, if the EU didn’t back down from imposing countermeasures.
