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The European Commission said on Saturday that it “strongly” regrets the announced increase of US tariffs on steel imports and that the EU is prepared to impose countermeasures.
The EU said it was “ready” to retaliate.
“If no mutually acceptable solution is reached, both existing and additional EU measures will automatically take effect on 14 July – or earlier,” a spokesperson for the bloc said.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he planned to increase tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%, putting more pressure on global steel producers and deepening his trade war.
Steel prices have climbed 16% since Trump became president in mid-January, according to the government’s Producer Price Index.
As of March 2025, steel cost $984 a metric ton in the United States, significantly more than the price in Europe ($690) or China ($392), according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The United States produced about three times as much steel as it imported last year, with Canada, Brazil, Mexico and South Korea being the largest sources of steel imports.
Analysts have credited tariffs going back to Trump’s first term with helping strengthen the domestic steel industry, something that Nippon Steel wanted to capitalize on in its offer to buy U.S. Steel.
Trump, who has been eager to strike deals and announce new investments in the U.S. since retaking the White House, is also trying to satisfy voters, including blue-collar workers, who elected him as he called to protect U.S. manufacturing.
The European Commission conducts all trade negotiations on behalf of the 27-nation bloc and companies, or even individual EU countries, cannot legally get a deal outside that framework.
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View AllWith inputs from agencies