EU raises stakes for Trump with tariffs targeting GOP heartland
brussels — The European Union is preparing punitive tariffs on iconic US brands produced in key Republican constituencies, raising political pressure on President Donald Trump to ditch his plans for taxing steel and aluminum imports.
Targeting €2.8 billion ($3.5 billion) of American goods, the EU aims to apply a 25 per cent tit-fortat levy on a range of consumer, agricultural and steel products imported from the US if Trump follows through on his tariff threat, according to a list drawn up by the European Commission and obtained by Bloomberg News. The list of targeted US goods — including motorcycles, jeans and beverages — sends a political message to Washington about the potential domestic economic costs of making good on the president’s threat.
Paul Ryan, Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, comes from the same state — Wisconsin — where motorbike maker Harley-Davidson is based. Earlier this week, Ryan said he was “extremely worried about the consequences of a trade war” and urged Trump to drop his tariff proposal.
Other US officials will also feel
the pressure. Bourbon whiskey hails from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky. San Francisco-based jeans maker Levi Strauss is headquartered in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s district.
The EU’s retaliatory list targets imports from the US of shirts, jeans, cosmetics, other consumer goods, motorbikes and pleasure boats worth around €1 billion; orange juice, corn and other agricultural products totaling €951 million; and steel and other industrial products valued at €854 million. The commission discussed the retaliatory measures with representatives of the bloc’s governments at a meeting on Monday evening.
Trump’s vow to curb US imports of foreign steel has sparked opposition within his Republican Party and is based on a national-security argument that the EU dismisses. The White House threat risks provoking retaliation across the globe and a slew of complaints to the World Trade Organisation, which has never ruled on a dispute involving trade restrictions justified on national-security grounds.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and his team are due to discuss the retaliation proposal at a meeting on Wednesday. The commission is also weighing filing a complaint to the WTO against the US and introducing “safeguard” measures to prevent steel shipments from other parts of the world to America from being diverted to the European market and flooding it.