Her response to the US president’s decision to impose the so -called mutual duties on all commercial partners in the country may be less aggressive than expected, but seems to be particularly creative in her attempt to hit where she considers them to harm the government.
According to an internal document, the Commission is considering imposing duties of up to 25% on a wide range of exports from the US, worth about 22.1 billion euros based on EU imports in 2024.
The list includes agricultural and industrial products such as soya, meat, tobacco, iron, steel and aluminum – in order to hit the areas of American industry more based more on transatlantic exports.
Rural duties hit the red states more
If one looks deeper, he realizes that EU trade experts have shown unusual creativity, using their specialized knowledge of customs codes, wanting to cause the biggest problems in Trump’s electoral base.
EU countries are going to vote on new duties on Wednesday, without expecting a large confrontation on the issue.
(for technical reasons consists of multiple directories), the first package of tariffs on goods such as cranberries or orange juice, which the EU initially imposed in 2018 under the first Trump presidency but suspended in 2021, will enter into force on April 15.
Subsequently, on May 16, a 25% duty will be imposed on a second batch of imported species such as steel, meat, white chocolate and polyethylene. Finally, a 25% duty on almonds and soy will enter into force on 1 December.
Overall, EU duties are going to reach exports of up to $ 13.5 billion from the “red” states, those who vote on Republicans, according to Politico’s 2024 commercial data.
Starting with No. 1 EU target – Soya, the most valuable product on the list of duties, a product whose economic and symbolic importance to states that are the heart of the Republican Party cannot be ignored.
The products targeted by duties
And EU duties will hit an area already affected by China’s retaliation, growing global competition and price fall. Not only is this: 82.5% of US soy exports to EU come from Louisiana, the state of origin of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson.
As expected, they criticized Trump’s commercial war last month, arguing that “duties are not something that must be taken seriously” and urging the government “to review the duties it has already announced, as well as the potential imminent duties”. So far, however, the US president points out in every way that he is “not considering” the cessation of new duties.
The targeted hits
The EU also targets beef from Kansas and Nebraska, poultry from Louisiana, Michigan car spare parts, Florida cigarettes and wood products from North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.
While the committee ended up not including whiskey in the final draft, after a successful lobby from France, Italy and Ireland, the list includes other more specialized products that have been integrated to cause the greatest possible damage to states that support Repobblicans.
These include, among other things, ice creams from Arizona, scarves from South Carolina, electric blankets from Alabama, tie and bow tie from Florida (unless they are made of silk, which democratic California will be happy to offer) and laundry.
Finally, pasta from Florida and South Carolina will also face some pricing rise, although Italy will probably be happy to fill the market gap.
