Europe gears up to make its first countermove to Trump tariffs

BRUSSELS — European Union officials are taking a two-part approach to President Donald Trump’s unfolding trade war, offering to slash tariffs on American-made cars and industrial products even as they prepare to retaliate imminently with wide-ranging levies.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU’s executive branch, said Monday that the 27-nation bloc would be willing to employ a “zero-for-zero” approach on products including cars, eliminating tariffs on the goods if the United States did the same. EU car tariffs are currently set at 10%.

But at the same time, both she and the EU trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, made it clear that European officials were preparing to deploy tariffs and, potentially, other trade barriers to hit back at the United States if the two sides could not reach a deal.

EU officials circulated Monday evening in Brussels a list of products they plan to hit with retaliatory tariffs, said Olof Gill, trade spokesperson for the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch. Representatives from the bloc’s member states are expected to vote on that list Wednesday. If approved, the fresh tariffs would take force in two waves — one on April 15, the second a month later.

Officials did not immediately make the list public.

The bloc’s first set of retaliatory tariffs was expected to be somewhat dialed back from what was originally planned.

Officials had initially intended to hit about $28.4 billion worth of goods, including such imports as bourbon, boats, clothing and farm products.

But a senior EU official suggested Monday that bourbon might be dropped — it had emerged as a flashpoint after Trump threatened 200% tariffs on European wine and other alcohol in response. Sefcovic said the final tally of goods targeted would be smaller, after feedback from European member states.

Still, Europe’s gamble could have big reverberations for the world economy. If a deal is struck, it could foster more unrestrained trade flows between two of the world’s largest markets and most important trading partners. If the conflict instead leads to escalating tension and worsening relations, it could help fuel a trade war that causes painful fallout on both sides of the Atlantic.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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