The EU is on edge as US President Donald Trump follows through with tariff threats that have already disrupted agriculture and food trade flows and threatens to spark a global trade war.
Canada swiftly retaliated against Trump’s 25% blanket duties, also applied to Mexico, by targeting a wide range of agri-food products. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced immediate tariffs on $30 billion (€28 billion) worth of US goods, including farm products like vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, dairy, grains, oilseeds, coffee, tea, poultry, eggs, fertilized eggs, and egg yolks.
Another $125 billion (€118 billion) of Canadian tariffs are set to kick in 21 days.
China has also struck back to a new US-imposed 10% duty, with tariffs of 10% to 15% on $21 billion (€20 billion) worth of US agri-food products including soybeans. The largest US farm export to the Asian giant is set to take effect next week.
Mexico is expected to announce retaliatory tariffs on Sunday, AP reported.
In response to US tariffs, European Commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill warned that tariffs on Mexico and Canada “threaten deeply integrated supply chains, investment flows, and economic stability across the Atlantic.”
Beyond country-specific measures, Trump has hinted at imposing tariffs targeting agri-food imports starting 2 April.
“To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun!,” Trump posted – typos included – on his social media platform Truth Social.
However, Trump’s self-sufficient approach could prove difficult in some sectors, notably eggs and poultry. The US has been struggling with record egg prices and shortages due to a widespread bird flu outbreak that has hit production hard.
EU to follow
In Europe, food producers are fretting over potential tariffs, as Trump has repeatedly slammed the agricultural trade imbalance between the EU and the US.
Italian farmers’ association Coldiretti warned on Tuesday that tariffs on Italian food products from pasta to cheese could fuel the US market for counterfeit Made-in-Italy goods. “The concern is that a 25% tariff on Italian food would raise prices for American consumers, pushing them toward cheaper goods, starting with the so-called Italian ‘fake’ alternatives,” Coldiretti stated, hinting to goods produced in Wisconsin, California and New York.
The association added that, during the first Trump administration, Italian agri-food exports to the US like fruit, cheese, meat, jams, wine and spirits declined in value.
Spirits Europe told Euractiv that they had called on the EU and the US on Tuesday to work together to maintain tariff-free transatlantic spirits trade.
“US is a critical market – more than a quarter of our exports go to the US,” the secretary general of the EU wine industry association Ignacio Sanchez Recarte told Euractiv. “We are obviously very concerned about the potential imposition of tariffs and the negative effect they would have on a sector that is not going through its best moments”.
[ADM/EPD]