The European Commission (EC) has responded to new US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union (EU) by launching countermeasures on imports from the US into the EU.
On February 10, 2025, the US announced that it would impose import tariffs of 25% on steel and aluminum derivative products. The tariffs will apply to industrial-grade steel and aluminum, other steel and aluminum semifinished and finished products, as well as their derivate commercial products, covering EU exports to the US worth up to €26 billion ($28 billion), according to the EC. The tariffs came into effect on March 12.
As part of the response, the EC will allow the suspension of existing 2018 and 2020 countermeasures against the US to lapse on April 1. These countermeasures target a range of US products, including bourbon, peanut butter, and others, per the AP. The EC then plans to bring into force a new package of countermeasures by mid-April.
The EC estimates that the countermeasures will apply to US exports worth up to €26 billion, which it states matches “the economic scope of the US tariffs”.
“As of this morning, the United States is applying a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminium. We deeply regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and worse for consumers. They are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. Nobody needs that – on both sides, neither in the European Union nor in the United States,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.
The EC adds that the EU remains ready to work with the US to find a negotiated solution.
The proposed countermeasures are led by a 99-page retaliatory tariff list featuring a wide range of agricultural commodities, including beef, poultry, dairy products, fruit and vegetables, and alcoholic beverages.
The International Trade Administration noted that the US has run a trade deficit in agriculture with the European Union, with a $17.6 billion gap in 2022. The top five products exported to the EU include soybeans ($3 billion), almonds ($1.2 billion), pistachios ($689 million), whiskies ($533 million) and food preparations ($521 million).
In total, agricultural and related products trade between the two nations totaled $44 billion in 2022. This makes the EU the fifth largest export market for US ag products.
This comes against the backdrop of increasing concern about the effect of the US’s tariff regime on global trade. Expana analysts recently assessed the impact of tariffs on packaging materials, including steel and aluminum.
The latest spat between the EU and US comes a few weeks after President Donald Trump shared his intentions to hit the EU with 25% tariffs, as Expana reported.
“They don’t accept essentially our farm products, they use all sorts of reasons why not,” Trump added.
The EU was also featured in Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan, where the administration highlighted the shellfish trade between the EU and the US, as Expana covered last month.
“The European Union can export all the shellfish it wants to America. But the EU bans shellfish exports from 48 of our states, despite committing in 2020 to expedite approvals for shellfish exports. As a result, in 2023, the US imported $274 million in shellfish from the EU but exported only $38 million.”
Co-authored by:
Ryan Doyle
Expana
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Written by Craig Elliott
