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Brussels has threatened tariffs on €95bn of US exports, including cars and vehicle parts, if talks with Washington fail to end their trade conflict.
The EU’s retaliation proposals would probably take effect in July, if the European Commission makes insufficient progress in persuading the US to lift tariffs on €380bn of EU exports.
The Commission has also said it will initiate a dispute at the World Trade Organization if the US does not reduce its tariffs.
US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed so-called “reciprocal” tariffs of 20 per cent on almost all exports from the EU as part of his global trade measures. But he cut this to 10 per cent on April 9 for 90 days to allow time for talks.
Tariffs of 25 per cent on EU steel, aluminium and cars remain in place.
Senior officials at the Commission, which runs EU trade policy, warned on Thursday that they expected the tariff dispute to “persist over time”.
“We’re not pursuing a dollar for dollar, euro for euro approach” but would rather have “sustainable” measures in the event US tariffs last well beyond the 90-day truce for talks, officials said.
Boeing aircraft, wine and certain foodstuffs, such as fish, beef and olive oil, are also included on a new list drawn up by Brussels of items that could be subject to retaliatory tariffs.
Aircraft and parts account for €10.5bn of annual imports from the US to the EU, cars €2bn and car parts €10.3bn. The levels of possible tariffs on those imports have not yet been decided.
The Commission also intends to restrict exports of scrap metal, which is used by US mills to create new raw steel, as previously reported by the Financial Times.
“We are using 90 days to negotiate but also to prepare for other scenarios,” said an official.
The list must first be approved by a majority of member states and they can request products be removed.
The EU had already announced it would respond to the steel and aluminium tariffs with levies on €21bn worth of US goods, including Harley-Davidson motorcycles, poultry and clothing. But the bloc suspended its retaliatory measures during Trump’s 90-day pause.
EU governments have lobbied hard to exempt certain products from retaliatory tariffs.
France, Italy and Ireland succeeded in removing bourbon and wine from the first list because of Trump’s threat to respond with 200 per cent tariffs on their own alcohol exports.
The latest proposals could also be modified, Commission officials suggested on Thursday. “The list . . . will be most likely a little bit smaller than €95mn” by the end, an official said.
Additional reporting by Barbara Moens in Brussels
