EU goes to WTO over Trump tariffs, counter tariffs ready

The EU is taking this step because of the US's general import duty of 10 percent and the 25 percent duty on steel and aluminum. Earlier , China and Canada also went to the WTO to challenge the new US trade tariffs.

“The EU is unequivocally convinced that these tariffs constitute flagrant violations of fundamental WTO rules,” the European Commission wrote.

China and Canada’s complaints are unlikely to amount to anything. While the WTO is a sort of arbiter of global free trade, Trump has all but paralyzed the organization in 2019 by refusing to appoint new members to the main dispute resolution body.

The fact that the EU is nevertheless going to the WTO is because it does not want to leave the trade tariffs completely unanswered, a source at the Commission told the ANP news agency. "The EU's aim is mainly to confirm that internationally agreed rules matter," the Commission states.

Before an official complaint is made, the US and the EU will first enter into discussions on the matter. These discussions will take place sometime in the coming weeks.

The European Commission has already published a list of US products that could face counter-tariffs if negotiations with the US to lift tariffs fail. It includes 218 pages of US products worth €95 billion.

The list mainly includes agricultural and industrial products such as whiskey, motorcycle parts and aircraft. The American aerospace company Boeing could also be affected. The Commission also wants to limit EU exports of steel scrap and chemical products, worth 4.4 billion euros.

There are no pharmaceutical products or products that are difficult to import elsewhere on the list, a Commission source said. Producers or other stakeholders can also lodge objections to the list until June 10.