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Europe had been banking on a United States that wanted to make a deal on tariffs and trade. With little progress in that direction, it’s reluctantly starting to hit back.
March 13, 2025, 12:01 a.m. ET
President Trump is no fan of the European Union. He has repeatedly claimed that the bloc was created to “screw” America, has pledged to slap big tariffs on its cars, and this week enacted global steel and aluminum levies that are expected to hit some $28 billion in exports from the bloc.
But for months, E.U. officials hoped that they could bring the American president around, avoiding a painful trade war. They tried placating the administration with easy wins — like ramped-up European purchasing of U.S. natural gas — while pushing to make a deal.
It is now becoming clear that things won’t be that simple.
When American tariffs on steel, aluminum, and products that use those metals kicked in on Wednesday, Europe reacted by announcing a sweeping package of retaliatory tariffs of its own. The first wave will take effect on April 1, imposing tariffs as high as 50 percent on products including Harley Davidson motorcycles and Kentucky bourbon. A second wave will come in mid-April, targeting farm products and industrial goods that are important to Republican districts.
European officials have been clear that they were not eager to take that aggressive step: They wanted to negotiate, and they still do.
“But you need both hands to clap,” Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission’s trade minister, said on Wednesday. “The disruption caused by tariffs is avoidable if the U.S. administration accepts our extended hand and works with us to strike a deal.”
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