EU to hit back at US if talks fail

Boeing and big American food producers could end up in the crosshairs

- JEANNA SMIALEK

The European Union on Thursday announced a plan to ramp up the pressure on the United States, hours before President Donald Trump called the bloc’s top leader “fantastic” and said America would work with it towards a trade deal.

Trump's tone was a marked shift from the one he has often struck towards the EU, which he has said was formed to “screw” the United States.

The change did not seem to be linked to the bloc’s announcement, but the pace of events underscored that Trump’s trade war is rapidly evolving and highly unpredictable.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, on Thursday morning announced two new steps that it could take to hit back at America if trade negotiations fail. Officials laid out €95 billion ($107 billion) worth of goods that they could target with higher tariffs in retaliation to the duties that the United States has announced or imposed. They also said the bloc would start a World Trade Organization dispute against the United States on Trump's across-the-board tariffs, as well as on duties levied on cars and car parts.

The EU's proposed retaliatory tariffs — which member states will consult on and edit over the next month — could include products such as soybeans, meats and bourbon, as well as manufactured goods such as sewing machines, airplane parts and car parts. If implemented, the measures could hit big American companies such as Boeing, a senior European official said.