The European Commission (EC) has responded to US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs on EU aluminum and steel imports, which came into effect today, by announcing €26 billion (US$28.3 billion) worth of retaliatory measures that include US agricultural products like poultry, beef, and certain seafood.

US imports of nuts, eggs, dairy, sugar, and vegetables to the EU will also receive trade levies, as will industrial products like steel and aluminum. In a statement, EC President Ursula von der Leyen says taxes “are bad for business, and worse for consumers,” but “the EU must act to protect consumers and businesses.”

The countermeasures will be introduced in two steps, starting April 1, when the EU will reinstate suspended 2018 and 2020 retaliatory taxes against the US. Its new measures will be fully in place as of April 13. The EC says that until then, it will “always remain open to negotiations.”

“We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geo-economic and political uncertainties, it is not in our common interest to burden our economies with such tariffs. We are ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue. I have entrusted Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič to resume his talks to explore better solutions with the US,” says Von der Leyen.

Matching US tariff scope

The EC says its taxes match the scope of the 25% US tariffs imposed on the EU for aluminum and steel exports to the country. 

“EU-US trade relations are currently well balanced, as well as hugely profitable to both sides. We should be making this great relationship stronger, not weaker. Sadly, the tariffs imposed by the US today go firmly in the wrong direction,” says Maroš Šefčovič, EC commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency.

He adds that “unjustified tariffs on our exports” will “not go unanswered.”

The EU had been expected to respond to Trump’s taxes, with experts warning last month that US farmers would be “severely impacted” if the EU put levies on key food imports from the US, such as nuts, soybeans, and alcoholic drinks.  

Inga Fechner, senior economist at ING, told Food Ingredients First at the time that although agri imports only make up a small fraction of the overall trade between both economies, the EU is still an important market for the country, with the potential for around “45,000 jobs” in the US to be affected.

According to US government data, the EU is the fourth largest market for US agricultural exports. In 2024, tree nuts, including almonds and Brazil nuts, were the largest exported item to the EU, with a total value of US$2.7 billion.

Asked about the prospect of EU levies on US goods last month, Trump appeared unperturbed, telling reporters at an event in the US: “...Let them [the EU] do it. Let them do it. It’s just hurting themselves if they do that.”

As well as with the EU, the US is currently locked in a number of other escalating trade wars with several countries, including Canada, China, and Mexico, with increasingly erratic and unpredictable decisions coming from the White House on an almost daily basis. 

Global stock markets have slumped following US tariffs on the nations, and many analysts are warning of a US recession if the trade disputes continue.

Earlier this week, Canada’s seafood farmers flagged that the US 25% tariff on Canadian products would have a “devastating” impact on food security and asked for government support to survive the upheaval.