The European Union (EU) stated that there is “no justification” for United States President Donald Trump’s threats of a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminium imports to the US.
Trump on Sunday evening, shared his plans to impose 25% duties on all imports of steel and aluminium import in the US which would come with additional metal duties along with the existing ones.
Responding to the claims, the EU released a statement to decline the receiving of any official notification regarding the imposition of additional tariffs on EU goods.
Addressing the prospect of imposing a tariff, the statement read, “The EU sees no justification for the imposition of tariffs on its exports. We will react to protect the interests of European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified measures.”
Maintaining the tariff to be counterproductive, it said, “In general: The imposition of tariffs would be unlawful and economically counterproductive, especially given the deeply integrated production chains the EU and US established through Transatlantic trade and investment.”
“Tariffs are essentially taxes. By imposing tariffs, the US would be taxing its own citizens, raising costs for business, and fuelling inflation,” EU highlighted its worries for US citizens.
It also shared that tariffs may increase economic uncertainty and disrupt the efficiency and integration of global markets.
Trump’s actions also risk facing retaliation from the EU, as has happened in the past. In 2018, Trump imposed tariffs on 6.4 billion euros of EU steel and aluminium imports, which was met with tariffs on 2.8 billion euros of U.S. products by the EU.
Tariffs on an additional 3.6 billion euros worth of U.S. imports were set to take effect three years later but were not enforced after Joe Biden assumed the U.S. presidency, as both sides reached a truce.
Over criticism of the first Trump administration and China using trade as a political instrument, The EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) was proposed in 2021 which came into force in 2023 to retaliate against third countries that put economic pressure on EU members to change their policies.
Additionally, the EU can impose restrictions on the protection of intellectual property rights, limit financial service companies’ access to its markets, and curb companies’ ability to introduce chemicals and agri-food products into the EU.
As Trump announced his plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, shares of steelmaker U.S. Steel and aluminum producer Alcoa hiked in the pre-market trading.
U.S. Steel’s share price reached $40 in pre-market trading, gaining about 8.2% from Friday, while Alcoa’s shares rose 4.65% to$37.80.
