The EU plans to target 72 billion euros of U.S. goods, including aircraft, cars and auto parts, in the second round of trade measures.
According to a list obtained by POLITICO, most of the targeted exports are industrial products worth 65.7 billion euros, while agricultural products of 6.4 billion euros will also be affected if EU countries approve new retaliation customs duties.
The list includes bourbon whiskey, despite the intense lobbying activities to protect the liquor industry of France and Ireland from retaliation of US President Donald Trump.
The largest item on the 200-page list is aircraft and aircraft parts, with tariffs targeting US exports of about 11 billion euros, which could deal a heavy blow to aircraft manufacturer Boeing.
Then comes machinery, automobiles and auto parts, chemicals and plastics, medical devices and equipment, electrical equipment and industrial products. All of these products fall into categories of billions of euros.
The total figure was deducted from the previous offer to impose a retaliation tariff of 95 billion euros on US goods.
The European Commission announced the new list on Monday last weekend after Trump threatened to impose a 30 percent general tariff on EU exports from August 1 if a trade agreement cannot be reached.
According to the document, the Commission also explains that the justification for targeting US products to EU countries is based on several criteria.
First, he states that "the USA needs to rebalance/equalize the competition conditions in the light of customs duties that affect the EU's exports to the US". Then, “Availability of alternative sources of supply from outside or within the EU” is taken into account. Finally, "products with high displacement risk" are also included in the list.
EU member states will have to officially ratify the measures for entry into force. There has been no vote yet after the bloc's trade ministers, who met on Monday, supported the Commission's negotiating strategy.
The EU is trying to strike a careful balance between taking a step back and countering Trump's recent tariff threats. To give time for trade agreement negotiations, the first round of measures covering US products worth 21 billion euros have been postponed to August 6.