Planes, cars, and bourbon are at the heart of a list prepared by the European Commission’s in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs, according to a document seen by French news agency AFP, although Brussels remains hopeful about negotiations.
US President Donald Trump surprised the European Union last week by announcing 30% tariffs on all imports from the bloc, effective 1 August.
Despite this, the Commission is hopeful of reaching a negotiated solution with the United States before the deadline.
Maros Sefcovic, the commissioner leading the negotiations on behalf of the EU’s 27 Member States, was set to discuss the matter with his US counterpart on Tuesday, following an initial call on Monday.
“We are currently in the most delicate phase of negotiations and are striving to reach a preliminary agreement before the deadline,” said Olof Gill, a spokesperson for Sefcovic. “We wouldn’t engage in these talks if we didn’t believe they could succeed.”
In the meantime, the EU is also preparing its response to Trump’s tariffs. The Commission has drafted a list of US products it could tax in retaliation, and presented it to Member States on Monday.
The targeted imports, worth a total of €72 billion, will only be taxed if the EU fails to secure an agreement to overturn the US tariffs.
The 202-page document lists items such as US cars, planes, fresh fruits, fish, plastics, chemicals, and electrical equipment. Bourbon is also included, despite repeated protests from France and Italy, which fear retaliatory tariffs on their wines and spirits.
Some surprising products appear on the list, including Christmas trees, live bees, camels, ostriches, condoms, opium, pearls, and hair.
The list features key US exports such as soybeans, and various appliances, such as sewing machines.
The Commission had previously drafted a list of American products for potential tariffs in response to earlier US duties, but it was suspended to allow negotiations to proceed and avoid a trade war with its biggest trading partner.
