The European Commission (EC) announced on 12 March that it would be introducing tariffs worth €26bn on US goods in response to the USA imposing tariffs of up to 25% on EU steel and aluminium.
“The objective is to ensure that the total value of the EU measures corresponds to the increased value of trade impacted by the new US tariffs,” the EC said.
“As the US are applying tariffs worth US$28bn, we are responding with countermeasures worth €26bn," EC President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on 12 March.
The EU countermeasures would take effect in two stages, the EC said.
It would reintroduce measures put in place during the previous Donald Trump presidency on 1 April and implementing new tariffs by 13 April. The measures include tariffs on steel and aluminium, textiles and agricultural products including poultry, beef, nuts, sugar and vegetable oils and fats.
The European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation (FEFAC) said on 12 March that the EU counter tariffs covering a wide range of US agricultural products including feed, grain and other feed ingredients, could have a devastating effect.
“The proposed new tariffs may lead to the disruption of vital feed supply chains, as the EU will continue to rely on essential feed imports — in particular for protein-rich feed products like soyabeans, but also for maize and other feed grains and essential feed additives (such as lysine) where the EU faces a structural deficit.”
Meanwhile, US 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which had been due to take effect on 4 March – are set to come into force on 2 April.
The one-month delay was announced by Trump on 6 March, when he exempted any goods falling under the existing US, Mexico and Canada (USMCA) trade agreement.
Canada has imposed 25% tariffs against US$30bn worth of US goods including vegetable oils and margarine, effective 4 March. The country also plans to apply tariffs on additional imports from the USA on 2 April, following a public comment period.
The escalating trade tariffs would hit world growth and raise inflation, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has predicted in its latest forecast.
The organisation more than halved its growth outlook for Canada for this year and next, and expected Mexico to be pushed into a recession, the BBC reported on 17 March.
It said Canada’s growth rate would slow to 0.7% this year and in 2026, compared with its previous forecast of 2% for both years.
Mexico’s economy would shrink by 1.3% this year and fall a further 0.6% next year, instead of growing by 1.2% and 1.6% as previously expected.
The OECD also downgraded growth in the USA, with a figure of 2.2% expected this year, down from previous forecasts of 2.4%.
The world economy would slow from 3.2% growth in 2024 to 3.1% in 2025, largely as a result of the trade tensions, while growth in China - the world’s second largest economy - is projected to slow from 4.8% in 2024 to 4.4% in 2026, according to the organisation.
