EU threatens Trump with over $100 billion in tariffs if no trade deal is reached

The European Union (EU) announced Thursday that it plans to impose tariffs on U.S. goods worth €95 billion (over $100 billion)—targeting sectors like automobiles and aircraft—if no trade deal is reached with the Trump administration. Additionally, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc will file a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

According to a provisional list published by the EU, those goods will be "subject to countermeasures" from the bloc if talks between Brussels and Washington do not result in "a mutually beneficial outcome."

The bloc believes that the "tariffs blatantly violate the fundamental rules of the WTO," and that the rules system cannot be "unilaterally ignored by any WTO member, including the United States," according to an EU statement.

The EU says it is "fully committed" to finding "negotiated outcomes" with Trump

However, Von der Leyen noted in the statement that the European Union remains "fully committed" to reaching "negotiated outcomes with the United States." "We believe there are beneficial deals to be made for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," she added, though she cautioned that "we continue to prepare for all possibilities."

Formally, the European Commission — the EU's executive arm — initiated a public consultation on a list of U.S. products that could be subject to tariffs if negotiations fail.

The list of products spans 128 pages and includes goods such as aircraft, automobiles, plastics, and chemicals, as well as items like human hair and nuts. It also includes bourbon, a beverage that had previously been excluded from potential EU countermeasures due to concerns about triggering U.S. retaliation against European wine.