As the US rolls out new tariffs, the European Commission is preparing its response. The latest measures will factor in the car tariffs announced on Wednesday night, along with the reciprocal tariffs expected next week, as trade tensions between Brussels and Washington escalate.
The day after the announcement of new US tariffs on car imports, the European Commission stated on Thursday that it is awaiting the US’s reciprocal tariffs, set to take effect next week, before deciding on any countermeasures.
“If necessary, we will deliver firm, proportionate robust, and well calibrated and timely response to unfair and counterproductive measures from the US,” Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said, adding that he cannot tell the “exact timing” of EU actions until US tariffs come into force. US tariffs on cars are due to be implemented on 2 April.
US tariffs on steel and aluminium have already been implemented. In addition to the 25% tariffs on cars unveiled on Wednesday, reciprocal tariffs are set to target the EU on 2 April. However, it remains unclear whether these tariffs will affect European countries individually or the EU as a bloc.
The European Commission is set to consult member states on a list of American products that have been subject to suspended tariffs since 2018, following a trade dispute between the EU and the first Trump administration over steel and aluminium tariffs. In addition, a second list of US goods is under consideration, as Brussels weighs its next steps in the row. These measures will form part of a broader package of retaliatory tariffs, expected to take effect by mid-April.
But an EU official told Euronews that Brussels will not settle for these two lists alone, warning that once Washington announces its reciprocal tariffs next week, the bloc may need to respond with further measures. “We haven’t announced anything on services or on the anti-coercion tool,” the official said.
So far, the announced countermeasures on steel and aluminium have only targeted American goods. However, in 2023, the US recorded a services trade surplus of €109 billion with the EU. Expanding retaliatory measures to services would mark a significant escalation in the ongoing trade tensions between Brussels and Washington.
The anti-coercion instrument, adopted by the EU in 2023 but never used, is seen too by some experts as a “nuclear option” in trade policy. It would enable Brussels to impose measures on intellectual property rights or, for example, restrict licensing against a third country, adding a powerful tool to the bloc’s arsenal in global trade disputes.
The announcement of tariffs on car imports into the US has sparked strong reactions across the EU.
“It is now important that the EU gives a decisive response to the tariffs – it must be clear that we will not back down to the USA. Strength and self-confidence are required,” German Minister for economic affairs Robert Habeck said in a statement, adding: “At the same time, we will support the European Commission in continuing to find a solution with the USA through negotiations that avert a tariff spiral.”
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič met on Tuesday in Washington with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett. However, according to the European Commission, the talks yielded disappointing results.
“It’s true that Commissioner Šefčovič’s mission to Washington DC just now didn’t deliver any negotiated outcome” Gill said on Thursday, despite Commission’s hopes for progress.
“This is very bad news, and it is an act that is obviously uncooperative, in a situation where it is cooperation that will allow us to resolve the problem,” French economy minister Eric Lombard commented on Thursday on French public radio France Inter about US tariffs on cars. He added: “We are in a situation where we are under attack: either we let it happen, in which case this situation will never end; or we retaliate, unfortunately, that is the rule of the game that has been imposed by the Americans.”
