EU threatens to target US cars, planes if Trump tariff talks fail

The EU on Thursday threatened to target US cars and planes among a raft of products worth 95 billion euros (Ksh.13.89 trillion) if negotiations with President Donald Trump's team fail to avert a trade war.

The European Commission said it would, in parallel, file a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over Trump's imposition of swingeing tariffs against the bloc.

The goods on the EU's list range from predictable targets such as soybeans, a key US export, to the outright quirky, including Christmas trees, rollercoasters and human hair.

Brussels also said it is considering restricting European exports of products the United States relies on -- from scrap metal to chemicals used in food processing.

Trump announced a 20-per-cent "reciprocal" tariff on most EU goods in April, along with higher duties on dozens of other nations, but has since frozen the measure until July.

The US leader, however, maintained a "baseline" 10 per cent tariff on imports from around the world, including the 27-nation European Union.

The EU wants to strike a deal with the United States to prevent an all-out trade war, but is preparing its retaliation should Trump's tariffs kick in again.

There will be rising hope after Trump on Thursday announced a deal with Britain on trade, which would be the first such accord since he launched his tariffs blitz -- although EU officials admitted they expected some duties to remain.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen reiterated the bloc's determination to reach a negotiated solution and avoid painful tariffs on both sides.

"We believe there are good deals to be made for the benefit of consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," she said.

But EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic stressed "we will not accept an outcome at any price".

Trump has also rolled out 25 per cent tariffs on imports of steel, aluminium and cars.

Brussels cooked up a first list of products to target worth 21 billion euros in response to the steel and aluminium duties, but it has paused those retaliatory tariffs until July 14 to give time for negotiations.

The much larger list unveiled on Thursday -- the bloc's proposed response to Trump's so-called "reciprocal tariffs" -- is designed to up the pressure on the US side to agree to a deal.

In a 218-page document, the EU listed all the products it could target, including US-made aircraft, cars, human hair, nuts and fruit, plastics, chemicals and electrical equipment.

The list also included bourbon whiskey -- which had been removed from the first set of retaliatory measures in a bid to shield European wine and spirits from threatened reprisals.

Planes and autos make up some of the largest value of goods on the list, worth 10.5 billion euros and more than 12 billion euros respectively, a senior EU official said.

That could put Boeing in the firing line, just as the US planemaker is struggling with a succession of crises.

Plastics and chemicals worth 12.9 billion euros also feature.

But neither lumber nor pharmaceutical products are on the list as the EU wants to protect its own industries from potential retaliation, the official said.

The EU has insisted if Trump does not back down, it is prepared to take more extreme measures, including targeting US Big Tech.

"All options remain on the table," the senior official said.

Trump's April 2 announcement of "reciprocal tariffs" on dozens of countries -- including China and traditional allies such as the EU -- sent global markets into a panic, before he declared a 90-day pause for negotiations.

Senior EU officials have since visited Washington for talks, with little so far to show for their efforts.

In the meantime, the EU said it would "soon" launch a WTO dispute over the auto tariffs and the 20-per cent duties.

"It is the unequivocal view of the EU that these tariffs blatantly violate fundamental WTO rules," it said.