The European Union will levy goods coming from America with tariffs worth €2.8 billion ($3.3 billion) after Washington applied tariffs on steel and aluminum from Europe, AFP and Reuters have reported.
The measures will be adopted by the European Commission, whose next scheduled meeting is June 20, according to Reuters. The tariffs should be in place by late June or early July.
“Member states have today unanimously supported the commission’s plan for the adoption of rebalancing measures on the US tariffs on steel and aluminum,” a European Commission source told AFP on condition of anonymity. “The EU will exercise its rights on US products valued at up to €2.8 billion ($3.3 billion) of trade, as notified to the WTO,” the commission source added in an interview with AFP.
The retaliatory measures will hit emblematic American exports like Harley-Davidson motorcycles, bourbon whiskey, blue jeans and other goods.
The US recently imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum coming from its allies in the European Union, Mexico and Canada. The trade penalties, 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum, took effect on June 1.