The European Union has unveiled its list of countermeasures in response to US President Donald Trump’s comprehensive tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which include Harley Davidson motorcycles and tomato ketchup.
As a tit-for-tat trade conflict emerges, let’s examine the current trade barriers that the EU has implemented against American goods.
The hefty US tariffs of 25 percent on EU steel and aluminium took effect at midnight without any exemptions, despite attempts from various countries to prevent them. This marks an escalation following new duties that Trump has already enacted against Canada, Mexico, and China since taking office again.
According to the World Trade Organization, 31 percent of American exports to the EU faced customs duties in 2023. These measures are designed to safeguard European producers from American competition, mirroring actions taken by the United States.
The average customs duty that both sides impose on each other’s goods stands at one percent, as reported by the European Union’s executive Commission. However, this rate varies across different products, and EU and US tariffs may not always align for similar items.
The United States is the second-largest supplier of goods to the EU, making it a key economic partner for the 27-nation bloc.
In 2024, the EU exported goods worth 531.6 billion euros to the United States and imported 333.4 billion euros, with the majority of these imports including crude oil, natural gas, and medicines, which largely came in “duty free.”
The Commission noted that in 2023, the EU collected around three billion euros in customs duties from US imports, while the United States received seven billion euros from its imports from the EU.
In 2023, only one percent of American exports to the EU faced custom duties exceeding 10 percent, according to the WTO’s “Tariff analysis online.”
The most heavily taxed category is tobacco products, followed by ketchup, which is subject to a 10.2 percent tax, as well as honey, gherkins, and caviar.
The WTO indicated that Harley-Davidson motorcycles encountered a six percent customs duty upon entering the EU in 2023.
American automobiles faced a 10 percent customs duty, which is 12 percentage points lower than the duties levied on vans by the US.
The EU cautioned that boats, which faced customs duties of less than five percent in 2023, and bourbon, currently untaxed, could be the next targets in the EU’s trade measures.
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This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
