European Union hits back at US tariffs with taxes on bourbon, Harley Davidson bikes and other products
The EU tariffs on US exports will begin on Friday, in response to US President Donald Trump ordering tariffs on EU-produced steel and aluminium
The European Union will start taxing a range of US imports on Friday, including quintessentially American goods like cranberries and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminium.
The 28-nation EU’s trade chief, Cecilia Malmstrom, said on Wednesday that the bloc would introduce the tariffs on about 2.8 billion euros’ (US$3.4 billion) worth of US products. The tariffs, which had been announced earlier this year, had previously been expected to come into force next month.
The goods targeted include typical American exports like bourbon, peanut butter, cranberries and orange juice, in a way that seems designed to put pressure on Trump and US politicians.
Harley-Davidson is from Wisconsin, the home state of House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican. Bourbon is a major product of Kentucky, where the Senate Republican leader, Republican Mitch McConnell, is from.
“We are left with no other choice,” Malmstrom said in a statement. Trump imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on steel imports and 10 per cent on imported aluminium from the EU on June 1. Europeans claim that is simply protectionism and breaks global trade rules.
“The rules of international trade, which we have developed over the years hand in hand with our American partners, cannot be violated without a reaction from our side,” she said.
