EU to tax Harleys, peanut butter and more starting Friday

By Raf Casert / Associated Press

BRUSSELS — The European Union will start taxing on Friday a range of imports from the U.S., including quintessentially American goods like Harley-Davidson bikes and cranberries, in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on European steel and aluminum.

The 28-nation EU was first expected to do so only next month but EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said they would introduce the “rebalancing” tariffs on about 2.8 billion euros’ ($3.4 billion) worth of U.S. products this week.

The goods targeted include typical American exports, including bourbon, peanut butter, cranberries and orange juice, in a way that seems designed to create the most political pressure on Trump and U.S. politicians.

“We are left with no other choice,” Malmstrom said in a statement. Trump imposed tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on imported aluminum from the EU on June 1. Europeans claim that is simply protectionism and breaks global trade rules.

“The rules of international trade, which we have developed over the years hand in hand with our American partners, cannot be violated without a reaction from our side,” she said. “Needless to say, if the U.S. removes its tariffs, our measures will also be removed.”

Trump said the measures against the EU are meant to protect U.S. national security interests, but the Europeans claim it cannot be that close allies, many of them NATO partners, would endanger U.S. security.

The EU exported some 5.5 million tons of steel to the U.S. last year. European steel producers are concerned about a loss of market access but also that steel from elsewhere will flood in.

The EU, which is the world’s biggest trading bloc, has also taken its case to the World Trade Organization. If the WTO rules in its favor, or after three years if the case is still going on, the EU plans to impose further tariffs of 3.6 billion euros on U.S. products.