Bourbon whiskey, agricultural products, aircraft and cars are in the firing line for further tariffs the European Commission is proposing would be put on imports coming from the US.
The European Union’s (EU) powerful executive arm leading the response to US president Donald Trump’s tariffs, has published an extensive list of US products it could hike import duties on, if trade negotiations fail.
The commission is trying to ramp up pressure on the US administration, by widening the range of products that would be subject to import levies when sold into the EU, should US tariffs remain in place.
The executive body has re-tabled proposals to hit US bourbon whiskey, spirits and wines sold to EU states with tariffs, products the Government successfully lobbied to shield from duties previously.
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US aircraft manufacturers, such as Boeing, would be targeted in the proposed retaliatory tariffs, something that would have a major impact on Ryanair.
The Irish airline previously announced it would spend €36 billion buying 300 Boeing aircraft, to be delivered between 2027 and 2033.
The second package of tariffs would also hit a range of US agricultural and food exports to the EU, including lobster, cod and other fish, cattle, sheep, vegetables, apricots, nuts, as well as seeds to grow barley and oats.
Pharmaceuticals, which are the Republic’s biggest export to the US, have not been targeted by the commission.
EU officials have been seeking to cut a deal with the US administration that would see the sweeping tariffs introduced by Mr Trump walked back.
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The commission set out several concessions it was willing to make in a EU-US trade deal, in a document sent to senior US officials last week.
It is understood the EU executive said it would be willing to consider some tweaks to its strict food safety rules. The proposed changes would make it easier for the US to export fish and lobster to the EU, but would not open the door to US chlorine-washed chicken, one source said.
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The paper setting out the EU’s negotiating stall was sent to US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and trade representative Jamieson Greer, according to a source with knowledge of the document.
It reiterated that the EU was willing to buy more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US and again proposed that both sides drop long standing pre-Trump tariffs on industrial goods and automobiles to zero.
The negotiating paper also made reference to the EU and US co-operating to tackle geopolitical risks, a nod to China, though it is believed the country was not named in the document.
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EU states already agreed on an initial package of tariffs on €21 billion of US products, such as soybeans, motorbikes, oranges, clothes and steel. Those levies were delayed until mid-July, after Mr Trump announced a 90-day pause on the higher rates of his “Liberation Day” tariffs, which would have seen EU imports face taxes of 20 per cent.
Tariffs of 10 per cent on goods sold into the US from the EU and other trading partners remain in place, as do 25 per cent duties on steel and cars.
The commission has announced a second package of proposed retaliatory tariffs, that would come into effect if efforts to strike a deal with Mr Trump come to nothing. The second package could hit up to €95 billion worth of US imports.
The new list of products - which is subject to change - would hit steel, rubber, cars and car parts, kitchen knives, electoral equipment, and consumer goods like cigarette rolling paper, wigs and false eyelashes.
The commission has also proposed putting export controls on steel and aluminium scrap, to restrict the trade of those products from Europe to the US.
National capitals and industry will now make submissions to the commission over the coming four weeks, to likely lobby to have some products removed from the hit list.
A revised batch of retaliatory tariffs is expected to be decided by the end of June or beginning of July. EU states will then vote to approve the package of provisional duties.
Previously France, Italy and Ireland successfully lobbied to have US whiskey, bourbon and dairy removed from the EU’s first package of tariffs, due to fears exports of European spirits and dairy would be singled out for higher tariffs by Mr Trump in response.
