EU to delay first set of countermeasures against US tariffs until mid-April

The European Commission is considering delaying a first set of countermeasures to US tariffs on aluminium and steel until mid-April, EU trade chief Maroš Šefcovic said on Thursday, March 20. The measures, announced on March 12, cover a wide range of agricultural and industrial goods including potentially some wood products, pulp, paper and board.

The first set involves suspending existing countermeasures against the US from 2018 and 2020. They include a 25% tariff on US corn imports into the EU.

This was initially set to happen on April 1 after the current suspension ends but will now likely be postponed to mid-April to coincide with a second package of measures on which the Commission is currently consulting, Šefčovič said.

“In the light of the recent announcement that the US is planning to introduce additional tariffs on April 2, we are now considering to align the timing of the two sets of EU countermeasures, so we can consult with member states on both lists simultaneously,” Šefčovič told a joint hearing of the Committee on International Trade on Thursday.

“It also gives us extra time for negotiations as we try to find a mutually agreeable resolution. As a result, all the EU’s countermeasures that were announced on March 12 would in that case take effect in mid-April,” he said.

Agricultural trade between the US and the EU

The EU is traditionally a large buyer of US corn, with imports for the current marketing year having come to an end on March 3 and totaling 2.55 million tonnes (18.5% of total EU corn imports). This is the highest volume of US corn imports on record, going back to 2004/2005.

Imports of common wheat and durum wheat from the US during this period totaled 325,000 tonnes (5.8% of the total) and 109,000 tonnes (8.7% of the total) respectively.

Total US cereal exports to the EU were 526,000 tonnes in 2023/2024, up from 492,000 tonnes in 2022/2023 but less than half the 1.1 million tonnes exported in 2021/2022.

The US is a large supplier of oilseeds and protein crops into the EU, with some 6.4 million tonnes exported in 2023/2024 and 5.92 million tonnes in 2022/2023.

In 2024, the EU imported 258,743 tonnes of dairy products, 12,932 tonnes of beef, 1,565 tonnes of eggs, 301 tonnes of sugar and just 65 tonnes of poultry from the US, according to European Commission data — relatively small proportions of total imports into the bloc.

Some industry sources told Fastmarkets they expect further delays in implementing the proposed countermeasures, but at the same time, the risk of tariffs still exists.

Already, in anticipation of the potential effects of tariffs, Ukrainian corn has become more attractive to buyers and is finding price support given that it is the only remaining import option for the EU in the near months until the new crop of Brazilian corn will be available in August.

View our grains and oilseeds prices

Forest products trade between the US and the EU

The list of products potentially subject to the second set of countermeasures includes wood products from various species of wood, wood pulp, unbleached kraftliner, kraft paper and paperboard, folding cartons, boxes and cases of corrugated paper or paperboard, sacks and bags, and several paper products, such as books and writing pads. It is open to consultation by industry representatives until March 26.

Earlier this week the Confederation of European Paper Industry urged the European Commission to continue negotiations on US tariffs to avoid supply chain disruptions.

The EU imports around 900,000 tonnes per year of pulp from the US and close to 600,000 tpy of paper and board. On the other hand, the EU exports a lot of paper and board to the US, about 1.6 million tpy, and a lesser amount of pulp, around 350,000 tpy.

Since a multilateral agreement was reached between major pulp and paper producers in January 2024, there have been no import tariffs on either side of the Atlantic for the industry.

Steel imports from the US to the EU

The move to delay tariffs was announced after the US imposed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports earlier this month.

In the first two months of 2025, imports and exports of steel products between the US and EU logged declines.

In January, the US exported 5,237 tonnes of steel to the EU, down by 7.20% from 5,682 tonnes of steel exported in December, data from the US International Trade Administration (ITA) showed.

In February, the EU applied to export 238,854 tonnes of steel to the US, down by 41.8% from the 410,742 tonnes of steel imported in January, according to the ITA data.

Market participants globally are also now closely tracking April 2 — what US President Donald Trump has called “Liberation Day” — when a slew of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on goods coming to the US take effect.

The US President has also said new, higher tariffs on goods such as lumber, autos and copper will be announced then.

It remains unclear whether the tariffs will stack Trump’s Section 232 tariffs and specifically what goods will be subject to the broader tariffs, market participants previously told Fastmarkets.

Trump’s tariff policies are expected to slow economic growth in the US and globally, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported on Monday, March 17.

The risk of broader increases in trade barriers could weaken global growth more than previously expected, with inflation now remaining above target for longer in many economies, the report said.