EU Fires Back At Trump With Threat Of $84B Tariffs On US Exports As Trade Deal Deadline Nears

Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 30% levy on the European Union (EU), the 27-nation bloc has drawn up plans to hit back with retaliatory levies.

The EU is preparing a list of U.S. exports that could be slapped with retaliatory tariffs if a bilateral deal is not clinched by the Aug. 1 deadline, the Wall Street Journal reported. The items being considered reportedly include aircraft, machinery, automotive products, chemicals, plastics, alcoholic beverages, fruits, vegetables, coffee, and medical devices.

The new list readied by the EU and circulated among member states covered U.S. exports to the region that were valued at about $84 billion in 2024, the report said. The sector-wise breakup revealed that about $77 billion worth of U.S. industrial imports and $7 billion worth of agricultural and food product imports would be brought under the tariff net. 

The EU was initially toying with countermeasures in response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announced in early April, but decided to keep them on hold after the U.S. president suspended most levies for 90 days, except the baseline 10% rate. EU officials were also considering whether to expand the list to include levies or other restrictions on American services, in addition to physical goods.

Trump, meanwhile, softened his tone regarding EU tariffs by suggesting that the recipients of his letters “would like to do a different kind of a deal, and we’re always open to talk…including to Europe.”

The major euro area stocks fell on Monday, with the  Euro STOXX 50 Index ending the session down 0.23%. 

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has gained 7.25% so far this year compared to a steeper 24% gain for the iShares Europe ETF (IEV). The SPY was among the top 20 trending tickers on Stocktwits late Monday and the most active ticker by message volume. 

On Stocktwits, sentiment toward SPY has improved to ‘neutral’ (48/100) by late Monday from ‘bearish’ a day ago.

Responding to the 30% levy Trump announced Friday, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said the rate would be “effectively prohibitive” on trade between the two economies, but he showed a willingness to negotiate. 

Sefcovic, however, said that the ministers from the EU 27 member states who met in Brussels on Monday showed the strongest resolve he had witnessed since the bloc began discussing with the U.S. to retaliate if an agreement can’t be reached. “Everything is on the table, but we’ll take it step by step,” he said.

EU President and Dutch Foreign Minister Looke Rasmussen echoed a similar sentiment. “The EU remains ready to react and that includes robust and proportionate countermeasures if required, and there was a strong feeling in the room of unity,” he said, Al Jazeera reported. 

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani suggested that the union has drawn up plans to impose levies on U.S. goods worth $24.5 billion. 

The Journal also noted the EU hasn’t ruled out the usage of “anticoercion instrument,” which would allow the bloc to apply levies on American services such as financial services and digital products such as online advertising. 

This relatively untested option could also include restricting American companies’ intellectual property rights in Europe or making it harder for them to participate in public tenders.

European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that the anticoercion instrument was for extraordinary situations and that “We are not there yet.”

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