The European Union delays the entry into force of the first stage of tariffs on the United States by two weeks, and will coincide the application of these tariffs with the second stage. Thus, the 26 billion euros in retaliatory measures will be fully active "by mid-April".
"This approach allows us to provide a firm, proportionate, solid, and well-calibrated response to the US measures, while minimizing potential negative repercussions on EU producers and consumers," explains the Commission in a statement.
The reference to well-calibrated actions is crucial, as the actions originally planned for April 1st are an extension of those already applied during the previous term of Donald Trump. This means that some of them may not be adjusted to the current economic and industrial context, prompting the Commission to take an additional two weeks to fine-tune them.
"By aligning the schedules, the Commission is simultaneously consulting with the Member States on both lists. This provides additional time for discussions with the US administration," explain sources from Brussels, although this latter part is almost more of a formality as Trump does not seem willing to end his trade war.
"Our goal is to achieve a proper balance among products, taking into account the interests of EU producers, exporters, and consumers. The change represents a slight adjustment to the schedule and does not diminish the impact of our response, particularly because the EU continues to prepare for retaliations of up to 26 billion euros," they emphasize in the EU capital.
The Commission's decision to balance its response also fits into the philosophy of smart tariffs that Brussels is following. In the EU capital, they reiterate that they want to hit "where it hurts," including iconic and highly relevant products from traditionally Republican states.
"We have a list of products with high symbolic value, which do not cost us much, but will cost the United States. This includes agricultural products such as soybeans, which are significantly produced in Louisiana, the home state of the US House of Representatives President, Mike Johnson," sources exemplified on March 12th, the day the EU publicly announced its response and the trade war escalated.
"We are also talking about meat products such as beef and poultry, important sectors in states like Nebraska and Kansas," they emphasized, making it clear that Brussels wants companies, political representatives, and citizens from the most important states for Trump to directly feel the consequences of the US President's tariff measures.