The European Union is gearing up to hit the United States with tariffs on $84 billion worth of goods if ongoing trade talks collapse. On Monday, the European Commission unveiled a new list targeting U.S. imports, escalating tensions between the two economic giants.
EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic announced the proposal in Brussels, emphasizing the bloc’s readiness to respond if negotiations falter. “We’ve accounted for some €72 billion worth of U.S. imports,” he said during a meeting with EU ministers.
The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap a 30% tariff on EU goods if a trade deal isn’t reached by August 1. This ultimatum has thrown months of meticulous negotiations into uncertainty.
Despite the looming threat, EU trade ministers remain committed to finding a resolution. “There was a total unified position among the ministers that we should be ready to respond if needed,” said Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
Rasmussen condemned the potential U.S. tariffs as “absolutely unacceptable and unjustified,” highlighting the EU’s preparedness to act if talks fail to deliver a viable outcome.
This isn’t the first time the EU has prepared retaliatory measures. The bloc has already lined up a separate list targeting $21 billion worth of U.S. imports in response to earlier tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on steel and aluminum.
As the August deadline approaches, both sides are under pressure to reach an agreement that averts a full-blown trade war. The EU’s latest move signals a firm stance but also leaves room for diplomacy to prevail.
