US planes, cars, drinks on EU list for potential tariffs

BRUSSELS: Aircraft, machinery, cars, chemicals and medical devices are the leading big-ticket items on the latest list of U.S. goods the European Commission has proposed to impose tariffs on if talks with Washington do not yield an agreement on trade.

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Trump plans to raise US tariffs on EU imports, including cars, to 30% from August 1, prompting EU warnings of countermeasures.
The EU has proposed tariffs on US$84B worth of US goods including food, wine, and electronics if talks fail.
Negotiations are ongoing, but the EU is ready to act if no deal is reached by early August.

The package is the second put forward by the European Commission, which oversees trade policy for the 27-nation European Union. It is designed to respond to U.S. tariffs on cars and car parts and a baseline tariff, currently at 10%.

U.S. President Donald Trump, however, is now threatening a baseline tariff on imports from the EU of 30% from August 1, a level European officials say is unacceptable and would end normal trade between two of the world's largest markets.

The list, sent to EU member states and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, covers U.S. goods imports worth 72 billion euros ($84.1 billion). It also includes electrical and precision equipment as well as agriculture and food products - a range of fruits and vegetables, along with wine, beer and spirits - worth a total of 6.35 billion euros.

A first package on 21 billion euros of U.S. goods was approved in April but then immediately suspended to allow room for negotiations. That suspension has been extended to August 6.

EU officials said on Monday that they were still seeking to strike a deal to avoid Trump's heavy tariff blow, but EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said member states had agreed the bloc would need to take countermeasures if talks with the U.S. fail.

The Commission initially put forward the second package in May for a public consultation. The proposal then related to 95 billion euros of U.S. goods. It has since been whittled down, though most of the main items have remained.

There is no specific date for EU members to approve the package.