Trade negotiations between Brussels and Washington are not progressing. Unlike the agreement between the UK and the US, the European Union does not see positive steps being taken to avoid a trade war between both sides of the Atlantic. Therefore, the European Commission is hardening its position with two relevant measures: it will denounce Donald Trump before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has already launched a public consultation to apply tariffs worth up to 95,000 million on US products.
The list presented by Brussels contains about 2,000 products, and among the affected sectors would be the automotive sector, with tariffs of over 12,000 million, personal care products, reaching 10,000 million, and the aerospace sector, where the figure exceeds 6,000 million and would have a direct impact on Boeing, as confirmed by Commission sources. Another hit, following the one already being delivered by China.
It will also include bourbon, products that fit the objective of "hitting where it hurts the most" that is guiding the Commission's tariff response. The reason being that it is originally produced in Kentucky, a historically Republican state.
The Commission, as always, maintains that its goal is to reach a negotiated solution. "We remain fully committed," they point out in the European capital. But the positions and measures taken show that this outcome is becoming increasingly unlikely.
Regarding the WTO complaint, Commission sources explain that it will "take a few weeks" and, specifically, will be due to "universal tariffs known as reciprocal tariffs and tariffs on automobiles and automobile parts." This is a possibility that the Commission had already hinted at and is now materializing, although it does not seem to matter much to Trump as he completely ignores the World Trade Organization. One could even say that he despises it.