There is never a dull moment in the ongoing trade war. With effect of 12 March 2025, the US reinstated the June 2018 Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products at a rate of 25% and extended these tariffs to a larger scope of steel and aluminum products (see our prior blog post on the US Section 232 tariffs here). On 12 March 2025, the EU announced countermeasures which shall protect European businesses and consumers from the impact of US steel and aluminum tariffs.
The countermeasures comprise two different retaliatory tariff packages:
- The reimposition of the suspended retaliatory tariffs from 2018 and 2020 on 1 April 2025.
- The imposition of a new, additional package of retaliatory measures by mid-April.
Step 1: Reimposition of 2018 and 2020 tariffs
The EU is reinstating tariffs that are currently suspended until 31 March 2025. These tariffs include:
- US-origin products listed in Annex 1 and 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/724 with tariffs up to 50% (which can be foundĀ here); and
- A shorter list of US-originĀ products listed in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/502 with tariffs up to 20% (which can be foundĀ here).
As a brief reminder, the US-originating products covered by the 2018 and 2020 EU retaliatory tariffs included i.a. whiskies, oranges, denim clothing, motorcycles, footwear, boats, and steel and aluminum products. In January 2022, these measures were suspended until 31 March 2025. On 10 February 2025, President Trump announced that 25% tariffs would be imposed on all steel and aluminum products imported into the US, including those from the EU. These tariffs came into effect on 12 March 2025, leading to the EU reinstating its tariffs. The reinstatement will take effect on 1 April 2025.
Step 2: Imposition of new retaliatory measures
As a second measure, the EU has announced plans to impose an additional package of retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of US-origin industrial and agricultural products. These retaliatory tariffs are expected to affect ā¬18 billion worth of goods. The targeted industrial products include, among others, steel and aluminum, textiles, leather goods, home appliances, household tools, plastic, and wood products. The targeted agricultural products include, among others, poultry, beef, seafood, nuts, eggs, dairy, sugar, and vegetables. The full list of targeted products can be found here.
The expected process and timeline to implement these additional retaliatory tariffs is as follows:
- 12 March 2025: Launch of a two-week consultation with EU stakeholders to ensure the right US products are targeted (the consultation procedure can be found here)
- 26 March 2025: End of the stakeholder consultation.
- Days following 26 March 2025:
- Assessment and consolidation of stakeholder inputs.
- Finalization of draft Implementing Regulation.
- Initiation of the comitology procedure, whereby the representatives of the EU Member States shall give their approval on the draft Implementing Regulation.
- Mid-April 2025: Adoption and entry into force of the Implementing Regulation. This Regulation will apply immediately upon entering into force. However, before the retaliatory tariffs can take effect, the European Commission must notify the World Trade Organizationās Council for Trade in Goods after the Implementing Regulation is adopted. This Council has 30 days to disapprove of the additional countermeasures. If no disapproval is issued within these 30 days, the retaliatory tariffs will take effect the day after this period expires (which is expected to be mid-May).
How can businesses prepare
Businesses should be aware of their import and export volumes in the US and the EU, broken down by products and current tariff rates. This awareness allows businesses to quickly calculate the potential impacts of additional customs duties on the products targeted by the lists mentioned above.
Based on these potential impacts, businesses should consider mitigation strategies, such as unbundling transfer prices to optimize customs values (see our blog post on Trump Tariffs, customs valuation and transfer pricing here) and reviewing the use of customs procedures and Free Trade Agreements. It is important to note that the EU has specific anti-circumvention measures that should be taken into account when considering changes in supply chains, such as the relocation of production, as a tariff mitigation measure. For further information, please see our prior blog post on the CJEU ruling here.
