EU to hit US aircraft, cars and food in latest retaliatory strike

The European Union is looking at targeting €72 billion in US goods in a second round of trade countermeasures, including aircraft, cars and car parts, according to a list seen by POLITICO, Report informs.

The bulk of those exports targeted are industrial goods, totaling €65.7 billion, while €6.4 billion in agricultural products would also be hit if EU countries back the new retaliatory tariffs. The list includes bourbon whiskey, despite intense lobbying from France and Ireland to shield the drinks sector from US President Donald Trump’s reprisals.

The biggest line item in the 200-page list is aircraft and aircraft parts, with tariffs set to target almost €11 billion of US exports — potentially dealing a heavy blow to plane maker Boeing.

Then comes machinery, followed by cars and car parts; chemicals and plastics; medical devices and equipment; electrical equipment; and industrial goods — all of which fall into multibillion-euro categories.

The total figure is down from an earlier proposal to impose retaliatory tariffs on €95 billion of US goods.

The European Commission presented the new hit list on Monday after Trump dramatically raised the trade stakes last weekend by threatening to impose a 30 percent blanket tariff on EU exports from August 1 if no trade deal is reached.

The Commission also explains to EU countries that its rationale for targeting US products is based on several criteria, according to the document.

First, it states, there is a “need to rebalance/level the playing field in light of the US tariffs affecting EU exports to the US.” It then takes into account whether there is “availability of alternative sources of supply from outside or inside the EU.” Finally, it includes “products where the risk of relocation is high.”

EU member countries would have to formally approve the measures for them to take effect. A vote hasn’t yet been called after the bloc’s trade ministers met earlier on Monday and backed the Commission’s negotiating strategy.

The European Union is meanwhile trying to strike a careful balance between folding and fighting back against Trump’s latest tariff threats. It has postponed a first round of measures, covering €21 billion in US goods, until Aug. 6 to allow time to negotiate a trade agreement.