Edited by Francesco Pizzo, Lorenzo Ontano, Edoardo Rezzi and Ivan Vinciguerra
On March 12, 2025, a 25% customs duty entered into force for imports into the United States, affecting not only steel and aluminum but also semi-finished and finished products made from these materials.
The European Union has announced swift and proportionate countermeasures on imports of goods with US origin.
These countermeasures are based on two approaches:
- The elimination, from April 1, 2025, of the tariff suspensions related to the trade protection policies adopted by the European Union in 2018 and 2020, in response to the tariffs imposed by the first Trump administration.
- The adoption of new packages of tariff countermeasures that could affect US exports starting from mid-April 2025.
Regarding the first point, the European Union issued two Regulations (i.e. Regulation no. 886/2018 and Regulation no. 502/2020) that introduced certain trade policy measures concerning specific products originating from the United States.
These measures were suspended during the Biden administration until March 31, 2025.
As the European Union will not renew the suspension, from April 1, 2025, many US goods will be subject to tariffs. In particular, certain goods from the following chapters of the tariff will be affected:
- Chapter 22, alcoholic beverages, including whisky (tariffs of 25%);
- Chapters 61 to 64, clothing, linen and footwear (tariffs ranging from 25% to 50%);
- Chapters 72, 73, and 76, cast iron, steel products and products from the metallurgical and steel sectors (tariffs ranging from 10% to 25%);
- Chapters 84 and 85, boilers, mechanical devices, machinery, electrical equipment (tariffs ranging from 10% to 50%);
- Chapter 87, motor vehicles and motorcycles (tariffs ranging from 10% to 25%);
- Chapter 94, furniture and chandeliers (tariffs ranging from 25% to 50%).
With reference to the second point, the adoption of new countermeasures will take place under Regulation no. 654/2014, which establishes procedures to ensure the effective and timely exercise of the Union’s rights to suspend or revoke concessions or other obligations under international trade agreements.
On March 12, a consultation process began at European level to define the products to be included in the new countermeasures. The preliminary consultations should be finalized by March 26. Afterward, the EU Member states will be asked to express their opinions on the proposed measures before they are adopted. The act imposing the additional countermeasures will come into effect by mid-April 2025.
The products to be targeted currently include a mix of industrial products (e.g. steel, aluminum, plastics, textiles, wood products) and agricultural products (e.g. wine, vegetables, eggs and other foodstuffs).
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