Brussels bundles two US punitive tariff packages into a 93 billion euro list

The EU is bundling two retaliatory packages against US exports into a list worth 93 billion euros. Brussels aims to strengthen its negotiating position before Donald Trump's threatened 30 percent tariffs come into force on August 1.

“While our primary objective remains negotiations, we are preparing all possible scenarios in parallel – including potential additional countermeasures,” said Olof Gill, trade spokesperson for the EU Commission, in a statement.

"To make our countermeasures clearer, simpler and more effective, we will combine [both] lists into a single list (which will not enter into force before August 7) and submit it to the [EU states] for approval."

The first package , worth 21 billion euros, which covers, among other things, soybeans, motorcycles and jeans, was adopted by the member states in April and is currently scheduled to enter into force on August 7.

The second package , worth 72 billion euros, which includes aircraft, cars and electrical engineering, is expected to be voted on by EU member states on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the process.

Commission spokesman Gill added that EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič would speak with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Wednesday, after briefing EU ambassadors on the current status of the EU-US trade talks.

The €21 billion package was originally scheduled to be imposed in April, but was postponed after Trump suspended his sweeping " reciprocity tariffs ," which had caused global economic and financial turmoil. The €72 billion list was presented to member states last week after several weeks of consultations with EU member states and companies.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has already imposed a 50 percent tariff on steel and aluminum, a 25 percent surcharge on cars, and a flat tariff of 10 percent on EU goods. These measures affect goods worth €370 billion—around 70 percent of total EU exports to the US.

In addition, Trump has threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on copper on August 1. He has also repeatedly announced that he will impose tariffs on strategic products such as pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

Meanwhile, Brussels is “virtually ready” to prepare further retaliatory measures against US services, a senior Commission official told the European Parliament’s Trade Committee last week.

According to EU data, the Union recorded a trade surplus with the US in goods of 198 billion euros and a deficit in services of 148 billion euros last year.

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