Trump’s steel tariffs spark EU retaliation with €26bn trade penalties

The EU retaliates against Trump’s steel tariffs with €26bn in countermeasures, escalating a global trade war with the US

The European Commission said it will end the current suspension of tariffs on US products on April 1. File photo

The EU has announced it will impose trade “countermeasures” on up to €26bn worth of US goods in retaliation to Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, escalating a global trade war.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called the 25% US levies on global imports of the metals “unjustified trade restrictions”, after they came into force at 4am Irish time on Wednesday.