Reference News Network reported on May 10th according to a report by Agence France-Presse on May 8th, the EU threatened on the 8th that if negotiations with the Trump team in the United States failed to avoid a trade war, the EU would target a series of American products worth 95 billion euros, including American cars and airplanes.

The European Commission said it would file a complaint with the World Trade Organization regarding the high tariffs imposed by Trump on the EU at the same time.

The goods on the EU list include both predictable targets such as soybeans (an important US export product) and very peculiar ones like Christmas trees, roller coasters, and human hair.

Brussels also said it was considering restricting exports of European products relied upon by the US, including scrap metal and chemicals used in food processing.

Trump announced in April that he would impose a 20% retaliatory tariff on most EU products and higher tariffs on dozens of other countries, but later froze the measure until July.

However, this US leader maintains a "basic" tariff of 10% on all goods entering the US from around the world, including the EU with its 27 member states.

The EU hopes to reach an agreement with the US to prevent a full-scale trade war, but is prepared for retaliation if Trump's tariffs come back into effect.

Hopes for an agreement between Europe and the US are increasing. Trump announced on the 8th that he had reached a trade deal with the UK, which will be his first such deal since launching his tariff blitz - though EU officials acknowledge they expect some tariffs to remain.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reiterated that the EU is determined to find a negotiated solution to avoid both sides imposing painful tariffs.

"We believe that a good agreement can be reached for the benefit of consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," she said.

But European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic emphasized: "We will not achieve results at any cost."

Trump also imposed a 25% tariff on imported steel, aluminum, and automobiles.

In response to the steel and aluminum tariffs, Brussels drew up the first list of targeted products worth 21 billion euros, but has postponed these retaliatory tariff measures until July 14th to allow time for negotiations.

The list published by the EU on the 8th covers a much wider range - this is part of the EU's plan to respond to Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs - aiming to increase pressure on the US side to reach an agreement.

In this 218-page document, the EU listed all possible taxable products, including American-made aircraft, automobiles, human hair, nuts and fruits, plastics, chemicals, and electrical equipment.

The list also includes bourbon whiskey - to protect European wines and spirits from retaliatory threats, bourbon whiskey was excluded from the first list of retaliatory measures.

A senior EU official said that aircraft and automobiles are the more valuable items on the list, valued at 10.5 billion euros and over 12 billion euros respectively.

This could put Boeing, the struggling US aircraft manufacturer, in a difficult situation.

Plastics and chemicals worth 12.9 billion euros are also on the list.

But the official said that wood and pharmaceutical products are not on the list because the EU wants to protect its own industries from potential retaliation.

The EU insists that if Trump does not back down, it is ready to take more extreme measures, including targeting large US technology companies.

"All options are on the table," said the senior official.

Trump announced on April 2nd that he would impose reciprocal tariffs on China and traditional allies including the EU, causing panic in global markets. He then announced a 90-day grace period to facilitate negotiations.

Senior EU officials visited Washington for dialogue, but so far their efforts have yielded little result.

Meanwhile, the EU said it would soon file a lawsuit with the WTO regarding automobile tariffs and the 20% tariff.

The EU stated: "The EU's position is clear: these tariffs blatantly violate the basic rules of the WTO." (Translated by Guo Jun)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7502723910496944692/

Disclaimer: The article only represents the views of the author. Please express your opinions in the [upvote/downvote] buttons below.