EU seeks unity in first strike back at Trump tariffs

European Union countries will seek to present a united front in the coming days against U.S.

BRUSSELS — European Union countries will seek to present a united front in the coming days against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, likely approving a first set of targeted countermeasures on up to $28 billion of U.S. imports from dental floss to diamonds.

Such a move would mean the EU joining China and Canada in imposing retaliatory tariffs on the United States in an early escalation of what some fear will become a global trade war, making goods more expensive for billions of consumers and pushing economies around the world into recession.

The 27-nation bloc faces 25% import tariffs on steel and aluminum and cars and “reciprocal” tariffs of 20% from Wednesday for almost all other goods.

Trump’s tariffs cover some 70% of the EU’s exports to the United States — worth a total of $585 billion last year — with likely duties on copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and timber still to come.

The European Commission, which coordinates EU trade policy, will propose to members late on Monday a list of U.S. products to hit with extra duties in response to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs rather than the broader reciprocal levies.