EU pledges to fight back on Trump tariffs,

BRUSSELS — European Union officials unveiled an array of tariffs Wednesday that they would place on U.S.-made goods if the United States followed through on President Donald Trump’s plan to impose penalties on imported steel and aluminum, raising the specter of a trade war.

The announcement in Brussels was the latest rebuke to Trump’s proposed tariffs, which have met with consternation domestically and with threats of retaliation abroad. The president’s top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, said Tuesday he was resigning, a move widely believed to be linked to the trade plan, which he had lobbied against. Republican leaders, including Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., have also railed against the tariffs.

Internationally, the plan for the new U.S. tariffs — blanket penalties of 25 percent on imported steel and of 10 percent on aluminum — have drawn concern from allies including Britain and Canada, as well as from rivals such as China. The European Union had warned of retaliatory charges last week, and outlined those plans Wednesday.

Such a move by the United States would “put thousands of European jobs in jeopardy, and it has to be met by a firm and proportionate response,” Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU commissioner for trade, said at a news conference in Brussels. European officials have been meeting with their counterparts in Washington, urging them to revisit the plans, she added.

If the U.S. tariffs are put in place, Malmstrom said, Brussels would take three steps: It would take the case to the World Trade Organization, add safeguards to protect the European Union against steel diverted from the United States, and impose tariffs on a series of U.S.-made goods.

A provisional list of items being targeted includes bourbon, Levi’s jeans and Harley Davidson.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström on Wednesday added that the EU’s counter-measures would also include tariffs on U.S. steel and agricultural products as well as on peanut butter, cranberries and orange juice.

The list is being circulated among members of the EU, the world’s richest trading block.

On paper, America seems to have a stronger position than Europe: U.S. exports of Bourbon, Levi’s and Harley Davidsons to the EU amount to a mere $3 billion while European exports of aluminium and steel to the U.S. amount to $20 billion.

However, what matters most to Brussels is the political cost sanctions would have for the Trump administration. The products the EU has singled out would putatively affect U.S. states led by politicians with strong leverage over Trump.

Bourbon? The specialty and pride of Kentucky, the state led by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.