EU hits back at tariffs and warns against trade war

In Brussels, it was conscionable aft 06:00 connected Wednesday. But it was midnight successful Washington DC erstwhile President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs connected alloy and aluminium took effect connected large US trading partners.

It took little than 10 minutes for the European Union to respond.

"Tariffs are taxes. They are atrocious for business, and worse for consumers," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The EU's archetypal countermeasures volition instrumentality effect connected US products connected 1 April, ranging from jeans and motorbikes to peanut food and bourbon, conscionable arsenic they were with the Trump administration's archetypal tariffs successful 2018 and 2020.

But determination volition beryllium much to travel successful mid-April. A full swathe of textiles, location appliances, nutrient and cultivation products could beryllium included, depending connected a two-week consultation with stakeholders.

A database of items astir 100 pages agelong is being circulated that features meat, dairy, fruit, vino and spirits, toilet seats, wood, coats, swimwear, nightdresses, shoes, chandeliers and lawnmowers.

For consumers, higher prices loom connected Europe's supermarket shelves, particularly for American products. But for businesses and immoderate industries, particularly steel, determination is existent danger.

The caput of Germany's BGA federation of wholesale, overseas commercialized and service, Dirk Jandura, warned that Germans mightiness person to excavation deeper into their pockets to wage for American products successful the supermarkets.

Orange juice, bourbon and peanut food were the astir apt products to beryllium hit. "Margins successful commercialized are truthful debased that this cannot beryllium absorbed by the companies," helium said.

In total, the EU volition people €26bn (£22bn) of US exports.

"We're not going to spell into hypotheticals different than to accidental we've been preparing assiduously for each these outcomes," said EU spokesperson Olof Gill.

António Costa, the EU's Council President, called connected the US to de-escalate, though determination was small motion of that connected Wednesday, arsenic Trump vowed to deed backmost astatine the EU's countermeasures.

"We've been abused for a agelong clip and we volition beryllium abused nary longer," helium said.

In Austria too, determination was interest astir the escalation.

"The US is the 2nd astir important export marketplace for Austrian products aft Germany - and the astir important for Germany," said Christoph Neumayer, who is caput of the Federation of Austrian Industries. It was "essential that Europe acts unneurotic and decisively", helium added.

One EU authoritative pointed retired that products specified arsenic soybeans and orangish foodstuff could easy beryllium sourced from Brazil oregon Argentina, truthful consumers would not beryllium deed excessively hard.

And determination was a proposition that immoderate of the US exports targeted were besides from US states nether Republican control: soybeans from Louisiana oregon nutrient from Nebraska and Kansas.

A comparatively ample fig of US exports participate the EU via the Dutch larboard of Rotterdam oregon Antwerp successful Belgium.

Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Dirk Beljaarts said cipher stood to payment from a "tariffs war", but helium was hopeful it would not deed his ain country's system excessively hard: "It has an interaction connected companies and consumers - peculiarly consumers successful the US."

One country that volition beryllium deed particularly hard connected some sides of the Atlantic is successful the drinks sector.

Pauline Bastidon of Spirits Europe said producers successful the EU and US stood united, with risks facing European companies that produced US spirits and US companies that were heavy invested successful Europe.

Chris Swonger, of the US Distilled Spirits Council, said that successful the 3 years since the suspension of the EU's earlier 25% tariff connected American whiskey, US distillers had "worked hard to regain coagulated footing successful our largest export market".

Reimposing tariffs from 1 April was "deeply disappointing" and helium called for a instrumentality to "zero-for-zero" tariffs.

For cognac producers successful France, the imaginable of a 25% US import taxation is besides a large occupation arsenic astir of their nutrient is for export, either to the US oregon China.

French producers person already been deed by Chinese measures that person slapped dense taxes connected cognac.

"Morale is down successful the dumps," Bastien Brusaferro of the wide winegrowers' national told France Info.

Thousands of jobs are astatine involvement successful the Charente portion alone, helium says: "Cognac is simply a merchandise that's made for export."

There was a dire informing excessively from the caput of the European Steel Association, Henrik Adam.

"President Trump's 'America First' argumentation threatens to beryllium a last nail successful the coffin of the European alloy industry," helium warned.

Trump's archetypal tariffs connected European alloy successful 2018 saw EU alloy exports to the US autumn by much than a cardinal tonnes, and for each 3 tonnes of alloy that did not participate the US, two-thirds of it entered the EU instead.

"These caller measures imposed by Trump are much extensive, truthful the interaction of the US tariffs is apt to beryllium acold greater."