EU Readies WTO Litigation Against US Over Trump Tariffs, Prepares $107B In Countermeasures

The European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, said on Thursday it would launch a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute against the U.S. over President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.

Calling Trump’s tariffs “unjustified” and “harmful,” the EU said that it has launched a public consultation on a list of imported goods from the U.S., totaling €95 billion (approximately $107.4 billion), covering a broad range of goods from industrial and agricultural products.

This comes a day after a report suggested that the EU could target U.S. goods worth roughly $100 billion.

The Commission has confirmed the same, stating that these tariffs would become effective if the EU’s trade talks with the U.S. fail and the Trump administration refuses to reduce levies on goods from Europe.

The EU’s primary contention is the 25% tariff imposed on steel, aluminum, and car imports. While President Trump said these tariffs went into effect on April 2, he subsequently announced a 90-day pause.

A media report suggested that aircraft maker Boeing Co. (BA) could be caught in the crosshairs of the trade war between the U.S. and the EU, if trade talks between the two economic powerhouses fail.

Amid this, the U.S. and the U.K. have signed a trade deal – the first one after President Trump announced his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs in April.

The European Commission had offered zero-for-zero tariffs on industrial goods in April.

“We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trading partners. Because Europe is always ready for a good deal. So we keep it on the table,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Amid these concerns, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500, was up 1.28% at the time of writing.

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

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