Bankinter | The European Commission has announced the imposition of counter-tariffs on the United States. This is in response to the entry into force this morning of the 25% tariffs imposed by the United States on imports of steel, aluminium and products derived from them, which will have an impact of €26 billion on exports from the European Union (EU).
The EU plan has two phases: (i) On 1 April it will cancel the suspension of the countermeasures applied during the first trade war against Trump between 2018 and 2020. These tariffs will target a range of US products (ships, textiles, motorbikes, whiskey, food) worth €8 billion. (ii) On 13 April, new tariffs on US exports will come into force, following consultation with member states and stakeholders on which new products to apply them to, worth €18 billion.
Bankinter analysis team’s view: Negative news. The EU thus responds to the measures announced by Trump on 10 February and increases the risk of an escalation of global trade tensions. It should be noted that the United States is less affected by foreign trade than the EU.
