BRUSSELS: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday (Feb 11) to retaliate firmly towards US President Donald Trump’s determination to impose tariffs on metal and aluminium imports.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz additionally mentioned the European Union would current a united entrance and “act collectively as the most important market on the earth”.
Trump signed govt orders to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Mar 12, regardless of warnings from Europe and China.
“I deeply remorse the US determination to impose tariffs on European metal and aluminium exports,” European Fee president von der Leyen mentioned in a press release.
“Unjustified tariffs on the EU is not going to go unanswered – they’ll set off agency and proportionate countermeasures. The EU will act to safeguard its financial pursuits. We’ll shield our employees, companies and customers,” she added.
EU commerce chief Maros Sefcovic mentioned it was “a lose-lose state of affairs”, warning that tariffs had been “economically counterproductive”.
“By imposing tariffs, the US will likely be taxing its personal residents, elevating prices for its personal enterprise, and fuelling inflation,” he instructed the EU parliament in Strasbourg, France.
In a single govt order, Trump mentioned: “As of Mar 12, 2025, all imports of aluminium articles and by-product aluminium articles from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, EU nations, and the UK shall be topic to the extra advert valorem tariff.”
He issued a separate order for metal, which mentioned it could apply to all imports from the identical nations the aluminium tariffs hit, in addition to to Brazil, Japan and South Korea.
The US president indicated additional further customs duties may very well be on the best way for vehicles, prescribed drugs and pc chips.
His newest orders will really feel like deja vu for Europe.
In 2018, Trump slapped tariffs throughout his first presidency on metal and aluminium exports – forcing the EU to reply with its personal increased duties.
The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU additionally mentioned on Tuesday that it opposed Trump’s determination, warning it could “have a wide-reaching and overwhelmingly adverse influence on jobs, prosperity and safety on either side of the Atlantic”.
