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Brussels plans to impose tariffs on Boeing aircraft, cars and bourbon as part of a proposal for further retaliation against €72bn of annual US imports if trade talks with Washington fail.
The European Commission, which runs EU trade policy, drew up the list — seen by the Financial Times — after US President Donald Trump over the weekend declared he would levy 30 per cent so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on the bloc on August 1.
The total amount is lower than an earlier list of retaliatory measures, which would have targeted €95bn worth of US imports. Business leaders and European governments have lobbied against targeting certain industries, which they argue could hurt the EU more than it would hurt the US.
The EU and the US have been negotiating to secure a trade deal for months, after Trump’s reciprocal tariffs were originally set at 20 per cent in April. They were then dropped to 10 per cent to allow time for negotiations, before the president made the latest 30 per cent threat.
So far, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has indicated that the bloc would keep talking until next month’s deadline. On Monday, the EU’s trade chief Maroš Šefčovič said there was still a “big gap” between the two sides.
The EU is now readying retaliatory tariffs for if those talks fail, with Šefčovič saying on Monday that “we have to protect the EU economy and we need to go for these rebalancing measures”.
The commission is postponing until August 6 a separate plan to hit €21bn of annual US imports — drawn up in response to Trump’s separate duties on imports of steel, aluminium and cars from the EU — to allow time for talks.
The latest list includes tariffs set to target almost €11bn of US exports in aircraft and aircraft parts. Other items include cars and car parts, machinery products, chemicals and plastics, medical devices and equipment and electrical equipment. In agriculture, the list includes fruit and vegetables and alcoholic drinks, such as bourbon and rum.
The new list was first reported by Politico and Bloomberg.
EU countries would have to formally approve the list before the retaliatory measures could enter into force.