EU and Trump trade war explodes as Brussels plots tariffs on US goods worth £85bn

Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump pictured in 2020 (Image: GETTY)

The European Union is ready to hit back against the United States by slapping fresh tariffs on a swathe of American exports worth around £85 billion, threatening to escalate an already simmering transatlantic trade dispute with Donald Trump. The European Commission is finalising plans to target roughly €100 billion worth of US goods should ongoing trade talks between Brussels and Washington fail, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

The proposed measures are expected to be circulated among member states this week, with formal consultations to follow before the final list of tariffs is agreed next month. The list of targeted goods remains confidential for now and could change before its official adoption. However, the move signals that patience in European capitals is wearing thin amid slow progress in negotiations, which began in earnest last month but have stalled. The Commission is also expected to submit a position paper to the United States this week in the hope of unblocking talks.

CNN shows Donald Trump announcing tariffs

Proposals under discussion reportedly include lowering both tariff and non-tariff barriers and encouraging mutual investment, though there is little expectation that they will prompt a meaningful shift in US policy.

Over the weekend, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed Mr Trump had made a “gigantic miscalculation” in cutting federal aid for science.

President Trump reignited global trade tensions on April 2 — dubbed “Liberation Day” by his supporters — by unveiling a new raft of tariffs targeting countries he accused of “cheating” the US economy. China is currently subject to tariffs of .145%

Although the UK was not singled out, many of the new tariffs affect British goods indirectly, particularly through the EU’s collective trade framework.

Donald Trump in the Oval Office (Image: Getty)

British car manufacturers, aerospace firms and whisky exporters are among those potentially exposed if the dispute worsens.

Mr Trump has also reopened investigations into critical mineral imports and certain high-value sectors — steps which may later trigger additional tariffs on UK-origin goods, either directly or via the wider EU response.

The White House has portrayed the moves as a long-overdue effort to restore “reciprocity” in global trade.

In parallel, tensions between the US and China have reignited. Beijing has responded to Mr Trump’s actions with its own counter-tariffs on roughly $80 billion worth of American exports, targeting sectors such as agriculture, automotive parts and energy.

The tit-for-tat exchanges mirror the early years of Mr Trump’s first presidency, when a trade war between the world’s two largest economies rattled markets and disrupted supply chains worldwide.

While the EU has so far sought to avoid a full-blown confrontation, the scale of the proposed response underscores how seriously Brussels is now taking the threat.

The bloc had already imposed retaliatory tariffs on €21 billion worth of American goods in response to earlier US duties on steel and aluminium.

Those measures remain in place, and officials say they are prepared to go much further if diplomacy fails.