EU To Join China, Canada Next Week With First Retaliation Measures Against Trump Tariffs: Two Key Goods To Be Left Out

The European Union on Wednesday announced that it will launch its first countermeasures against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which will affect a wide range of goods exported into the bloc from the U.S.

The European Commission said in a statement that the collection of these duties will begin on April 15, as it awaits the completion of internal procedures.

The bloc added that it is imposing these retaliatory levies in response to Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. from Europe.

According to a Reuters report, the 27-member group will impose these tariffs on several major agricultural products from the U.S., including rice, maize, wheat, barley, fruits, poultry, clothing, and motorcycles.

The report adds that the value of these products imported into the EU amounted to $23 billion in 2024.

However, two key goods—dairy and alcoholic drinks—have been left out of the EU’s retaliatory tariffs after Trump threatened to impose 200% tariffs on wine and spirits exports from the EU into the U.S.

The EU will enforce these tariffs in a staggered manner – on April 15, May 16, and December 1.

“The EU considers US tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy,” the bloc said.

The statement also stressed the EU’s attempt at negotiations—it has offered “zero-for-zero” tariffs on industrial goods.

However, not every EU member is on board with this.

Germany’s Economy Minister Robert Habeck urged the EU to look “far beyond tariff policy,” pointing to the export of digital services from the U.S.’s Big Tech companies.

“These countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the US agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome,” the European Commission added.

Amid a flurry of measures and countermeasures being announced, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500, was up 2.7% at the time of writing.

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