The 12th of March 2025 : On this date, the United States imposed customs duties of up to 25% on imports of steel and aluminium, as well as certain products containing these materials, from the European Union. These new provisions affect exports from the European Union worth more than €26 billions.
The 1st of April 2025 : In response, the European Commission launched a series of countermeasures aimed at protecting European businesses and consumers from the effects of these trade restrictions.
The European Union is implementing two countermeasures :
- The reinstatement of the 2018 and 2020 rebalancing measures, which had previously been suspended, from 1st April 2025.
- The forthcoming adoption of a new set of additional measures based on a list of US products that will be taxed if the United States and the European Union fail to reach an agreement. This list includes goods worth €93 billions.
The 27th of July 2025 : With just a few days to go before the 1st August 2025 deadline, and after months of negotiations, Brussels and Washington concluded a trade agreement in Scotland. This provides for a 15% customs duty on European products imported into the United States, with exemptions for certain key European economic sectors.
According to France, this is a temporary solution.
The 5th of August 2025 : The European Union has adopted the legal procedures necessary to suspend retaliatory measures against US customs duties due to the trade agreement between the United States and the European Union. However, the European Commission has not ruled out reactivating these measures if relations with the US administration deteriorate again.
