EU postpones first tariffs against US until mid-April

The European Union has postponed until mid-April its first tariffs against the United States due to tariffs on metals imposed by US President Donald Trump. This is reported by Reuters.

The European Union planned to impose tariffs on US goods in two stages: from April 1 and 13, in particular, to introduce a 50% duty on American alcohol.

The European Commission proposed to introduce tariffs on American products worth 4.5 billion euros on April 1, and on April 13 – on another 18 billion euros on American goods.

The European Union is currently negotiating with the United States to reduce tariffs on imports of industrial goods.

As noted by European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič, the EU is consulting with member states on tariffs. The EU sees little progress in negotiations with the United States, therefore it considers it appropriate to postpone the introduction of the first stage of tariffs.

• A month ago, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing 25% tariffs on steel, aluminium and related products, affecting around €26 billion in EU exports. The EU condemned the move, saying it would respond without hesitation if the US went ahead with the new tariffs.
• The situation did not improve, so on 12 March the European Commission imposed a series of proportionate countermeasures on US imports into the EU, targeting a range of US products, from boats to bourbon and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
• US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 200% tariff on all wines and other spirits coming from the EU unless the bloc removes its duties on whisky.

Tags: EU, USA