"EU Plans Additional Tariffs on $158 Billion Worth of US Products if Negotiations Fail"

"To be shared with member states on the 7th, with a month-long consultation on the retaliatory tariff list"

The European Union (EU) plans to impose additional tariffs on approximately 100 billion euros ($158 billion) worth of US products if the ongoing trade negotiations with the United States do not yield satisfactory results.

According to Bloomberg, citing sources on the 6th (local time), this retaliatory measure by the EU will be shared with member states on the 7th, and consultations will be held for a month before the final retaliatory tariff list is confirmed. The plan is confidential, and according to sources, the list of tariff targets may change.

The European Commission, responsible for the EU's trade issues, is set to share documents to initiate negotiations with the United States this week. The EU's proposal is expected to include the easing of trade and non-tariff barriers and increased investment in the United States.

Negotiations between the EU and the United States, which began in earnest last month, have made little progress, and most of the tariffs imposed by the United States are expected to remain in place. The EU announced that due to President Trump's trade investigation, the scale of products subject to EU tariffs could increase to 549 billion euros ($863.51 billion).

As of the end of last year, the United States recorded a trade deficit of $235.6 billion in goods and a surplus of $75 billion in services with the EU, resulting in a total deficit of $160.6 billion.

The EU's new retaliatory tariffs will be in addition to the 21 billion euros worth of tariffs already imposed on US products in response to President Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Earlier this month, the EU agreed to reduce the so-called reciprocal tariff rate on most EU exports from 20% to 10% during negotiations with the United States and to delay the implementation of this measure for 90 days.

President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on cars and some auto parts and initiated investigations that could lead to tariffs on imports of lumber, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, critical minerals, and trucks.

Guest reporter Kim Jung-a kja@hankyung.com