Brussels to propose new tariffs next week to be activated in may if trade relations with Trump do not improve

The European Commission will propose a new round of tariffs on the United States next week in retaliation for the widespread 20% surcharge on all European imports and a 25% levy on cars and auto parts coming from the EU. While the 27 Member States continue to reflect on other medium-term anti-coercion measures, Brussels will be ready to activate these tariffs in May if Washington does not yield and agree to genuine negotiations by then.

This round is different from the one already in the process of being adopted as an initial response to the 25% tariffs on European steel and aluminum, which Brussels expects to formally adopt next Tuesday. Following a vote by the 27 Member States during a technical meeting this Wednesday to endorse the measure, the tariffs will be implemented in stages on three separate dates.

In this context, the European Commission is also working on new tariff measures to respond to the White House’s levies. According to EU sources, this new proposal will be unveiled “next week” and its approval will be sought in May—unless the U.S. engages beforehand in genuine negotiations to curb the tariff escalation.

The European Union’s trade negotiator and sole interlocutor with the United States, Maros Sefcovic, has traveled to Washington twice in unsuccessful attempts to halt the tariffs. Additionally, last Friday, he once again extended an invitation to dialogue and, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during that conversation Sefcovic also offered the U.S. a zero-tariff agreement on industrial goods—which would, in practice, also benefit the automotive sector.