EU slaps retaliatory tariffs on $22B worth of US products

Orange juice, soybeans, motorcycles, beauty products among goods facing tariffs starting next week

The European Commission said duties on U.S. imports would start being collected on April 15. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

The European Union on Wednesday approved tariffs of up to 25% on more than $22 billion worth of U.S. goods, including orange juice, soybeans, motorcycles, beauty products and more.

The European Commission, the EU’s primary executive arm, said duties on U.S. imports would start being collected on April 15.

The levies are retaliation for the Trump administration’s duties on imports of steel and aluminium from EU nations.

“The EU considers U.S. tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy,” European Commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill said in a news release. “These countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the U.S. agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome.”

President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging “reciprocal” tariff policy went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, including various levies on imports from about 90 U.S. trading partners.

Other U.S. products that will be hit with EU tariffs on April 15 include boats and yachts, coffee, copper, steel and iron, and live poultry.

Related: Trump’s sweeping tariffs go into effect, including 104% on China imports

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Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact nmahoney@freightwaves.com