The European Union (EU) plans to impose retaliation on duties In US imports, including Boeing aircraft, if President Donald Trump imposes a basic duty on block products, as many expect.
EU officials expect the US to maintain some duties, even after the completion of trade negotiations. So far, the European Commission, which is handling commercial issues for the EU, has not stated whether this would cause retaliation from the block.
“We will need to retaliate and restore the balances to some basic areas if the US insists on an asymmetric deal,” EU industry leader Stefan Cézurne told Bloomberg News, including “the result of the negotiations”.
The EU is rushing to conclude an agreement with Washington before duties in almost all its exports to the US increase to 50% on July 9. Trump has shaken the EU – which, he said, was created to “hurt” the US – for its surplus goods and the obstacles considered to US trade. The EU estimates that US duties now cover 380 billion euros ($ 439 billion), or approximately 70% of its exports to the US.
The negotiations have been accelerated and the committee is doing everything to reach a solution that will benefit both sides, according to an EU official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The committee told Member States last week that the US insisted on demands that would lead to an unfair deal, Bloomberg said earlier.
The Commission, which seeks a mutually beneficial agreement, will evaluate any end result and at this stage will decide which level of asymmetry – if any – is willing to accept, Bloomberg said earlier. Any retaliation decision should be coordinated and agreed with the Member States.
US demands include measures involving quotes for fish exports, which EU officials say they may be incompatible with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), tariff -related movements and are not reciprocal, as well as a number of financial security requirements.
Many in the EU expect that most of the US duties will remain in force even if an agreement is reached, including a 10%basic duty. The United Kingdom signed an agreement with the US this month, which leaves 10% duties on almost all British exports.
“I understand that the US is largely working with 10% as a basic limit,” EU’s head of EU trade department Maros Sefcovic told Berlin on Monday (23.6.2025). “We are also working on balancing measures that will protect European businesses and European workers in case” we do not end up in a fair, negotiating solution, “he said.
One of the areas exposed to a trade war will be civil aviation. Sezurne said Airbus SE based in Toulouse, France, cannot be subject to “unfair competition” by Boeing, which is based in Arlington, Virginia, because the European aircraft manufacturer faces an additional 10%duty. “If we do not restore the balance, we will leave some top areas unprotected, so there is a financial interest to act so,” he said.
Even if the talks are going well, many Europeans consider a better scenario a deal in principle that will allow the negotiations to continue after the July 9th deadline, extending the current truce, Bloomberg said earlier.
The EU has already approved tariffs on US products worth 21 billion euros that can be applied quickly in response to the contributions imposed by Trump In aluminum and steel exports. The duties are aimed at politically sensitive US states and include products such as Louisiana, the homeland of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, as well as agricultural products, poultry and motorcycles.
The block also prepares an additional list of tariffs on US products worth € 95 billion in response to so -called Mutual contributions and duties for Trump for the automotive industry. This list may change as Member States and industries seek modifications that could protect their sectors.
The US has already imposed duties on European cars as well as on steel and aluminum. Trump has also announced that the US is working to expand duties to other areas, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductor and commercial aircraft.
Trump told reporters this month on his return from the Summit of the Seven Group in Canada that he does not feel that the EU is offering “another fair agreement”. “Either they will make a good deal or pay what we say they have to pay,” he said.