The European Union delayed its first round of retaliatory tariffs until mid-April. Supply Chain Dive says the EU originally planned to lift a suspension on previously installed retaliatory tariffs on April 1. That would have been in response to America’s 25 percent duties on steel and aluminum imports.
The EU will implement a new round of countermeasures by mid-April. An EU spokesman says this delay provides additional time for more negotiations with the U.S., but pushing back the duties won’t diminish their response. The delayed duties will cover 26 billion euros worth of American exports, including bourbon. The amount of EU duties is expected to mirror the $28 billion worth of economic impact from the U.S. tariffs.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to place 200 percent tariffs on alcoholic goods from France and other European countries, including wine and champagne, if the EU didn’t rescind its countermeasures.
