The 28 Member States of the European Union approved on Thursday the retaliatory measures against some US products in response to the taxes imposed by Washington on steel and aluminum, told AFP several European sources. “The implementation of these measures has been adopted unanimously” by the Member States and the European Commission will take steps for their entry into force, said these sources.
European countermeasures may legally come into force from June 20, but the EU could wait until July 1 to react with Canada, also sanctioned by Washington, who wants to launch the retaliation that day said a diplomatic source. The European list contains dozens of American products, some of which are very emblematic, such as bourbon, Harley Harley-Davidson motorcycles and jeans. Here is the detail:
● Steel
Dozens of products like some rolled steels, stainless steel bars, seamless tubes, steel wires, doors, windows, etc.
● Agriculture and food
Beans, corn and rice (processed or not), lingonberries, orange juice, peanut butter, bourbon, cigars, cigarettes, pipe tobacco, rolling, chewing or snuffing .
● Textile
T-shirts and undershirts in cotton, wool or synthetic material, denims (ie jeans) or cotton pants, shorts, cotton bedlinen and some leather shoes .
● Vehicles
Motorcycles with a cylinder capacity greater than 500 cm3, sailing, pleasure or sport boats, with or without motor, rowing boats and canoes.
● Various
Eye makeup, nail polish, foundation and playing cards.
The list must be returned by the European Commission – a formality – before its execution.
The measure aims to offset up to 2.8 billion euros the damage caused to his industry by US taxes on steel (25%) and aluminum (10%). This figure is considered “measured” by the Commission, which wants the procedure to fully respect the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The list was communicated by the EU to the WTO on May 18, in anticipation of Washington’s decision. The affected products are manufactured in the US and not sold by US brands – otherwise they would be likely to be manufactured anywhere in the world. The EU targets several US states, often agricultural, which voted for Donald Trump in 2016. Other US products could in the future also be taxed by the EU, up to 3.6 billion euros, if it won the dispute with the United States in the WTO since its complaint on June 1.
Source and analytics by ICDST economy group.
