China, EU retaliate against Trump’s latest tariffs

China and the European Union have separately announced higher tariffs on goods from the US.

The EU approved a 25 per cent tariff on a broad range of US goods as its first countermeasure against US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.

A committee of trade experts from the EU’s 27 countries voted on Wednesday afternoon on the EU Commission’s proposal.

Reuters reported that an internal document belonging to the 27-nation bloc showed that the EU is imposing a 25 per cent duty on US cars, steel and aluminium. 

The levy also affects imports from the US, such as soybeans, sweet corn, rice, almonds, orange juice, cranberries, tobacco, iron, steel, aluminium, certain boats and vehicles, textiles and certain clothes, and various types of makeup.

The total value of US goods affected by the EU’s tariffs is €22.1 billion, based on the EU’s 2024 import data from Eurostat.

However, this amounts to less than the €26 billion in steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the United States.

The new tariff will take effect next Tuesday, 15 April, 16 May, and 1 December.

The EU’s new tariff was introduced just as President Trump’s sweeping global tariffs came into effect.

The US president had imposed a 10 per cent “minimum baseline tariff” on all imports into the country, as well as reciprocal tariffs, which specifically target imports from 60 nations including Nigeria.

He described the tariff as payback for unfair trade policies used in the past years.

In response, the EU President, Ursula von der Leyen, had said it was ready to take countermeasures to protect the interests of member states and their businesses should negotiations fail.

China’s response

The EU and China are two of the countries most affected.

Hours after President Trump’s sweeping global tariffs went into effect, China hiked its retaliatory duties on US imports to 84 per cent from 34 per cent.

READ ALSO: EDITORIAL: Tariff wars: Strengthening Nigeria’s domestic economic resilience

This new tariff is a response to the US doubling its duties on Chinese goods, bringing the total tariff rate to as much as 104 per cent.

The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the plan to increase the tariff on Chinese goods on Tuesday.

“China was already set to see tariffs increase by 34 per cent on Wednesday as part of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs package. But the president tacked on another 50 per cent after Beijing didn’t back off on its promise to impose 34 per cent retaliatory tariffs on US goods by noon Tuesday, adding an additional 84 per cent in duties,” she said.

In response, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it “firmly opposes” the additional 50 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports, calling them “a mistake upon a mistake.”

The ministry had vowed to escalate its retaliation on US exports to China.