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24 March 2025

EU may postpone countermeasures to US tariffs to mid-April 2025

  • The European Union (EU) is postponing its response to the United States's (US's) imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum to mid-April 2025.
  • Initially, the European Commission had planned to reimpose 2018 tariffs on US products on 1 April 2025, followed by additional tariffs on 13 April 2025.
  • The timing of the two sets of countermeasures will be aligned to allow for consultations with Member States and to extend the negotiation period with the US.
  • It remains crucial for businesses to assess the potential impact of the EU countermeasures by, for example, evaluating the extent to which they have recently imported or expect to import products covered by commodity codes for which tariffs could be imposed.
 

Executive summary

On 20 March 2025, the European Union (EU) announced that it is postponing until mid-April 2025 its trade measures against the United States (US), developed in response to tariffs imposed by the US on steel and aluminum. The revised implementation date for these measures has not yet been announced.

Initially, the European Commission had planned to reimpose 2018 tariffs on €4.5b (US$4.9b) worth of US products on 1 April 2025, followed by tariffs on an additional €18b of US goods on 13 April 2025. European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic announced that the timing of the two sets of countermeasures would be aligned to allow for consultations with Member States and to extend the negotiation period with the United States.

The delay in implementing the countermeasures also potentially allows for changes to the specific US goods targeted by any measures.

For full details of the EU's proposed tariffs, see EY Global Tax Alert, EU responds to US tariffs on steel and aluminum, dated 14 March 2025.

What should businesses do?

Despite the delay, it remains crucial for businesses to assess the potential impact of the reactions proposed by the European Commission. Companies must evaluate the extent to which they have recently imported or expect to import products covered by commodity codes for which additional measures are being reimposed or could be imposed.

Businesses should ensure that classifications for products to be imported are accurate. Companies must also review customs guarantees and payment balances for sufficiency.

Based on the outcome of the impact assessment, businesses should consider whether they want to submit input to the European Commission in the context of the stakeholder consultation process.

Given the expected impact, companies should investigate potential mitigation strategies. In general, analyzing the elements included in the customs value, utilizing special customs procedures and reviewing sourcing strategies may help to decrease, defer or eliminate the impact of the commercial policy measures. In doing so, it is essential to take an end-to-end perspective on the supply chain and to approach this from a multidisciplinary standpoint involving trade, supply chain and direct tax functions.

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Contact Information

For additional information concerning this Alert, please contact:

Ernst & Young LLP (Belgium)

Ernst & Young Belastingadviseurs BV

Ernst & Young (Ireland), Dublin

Published by NTD’s Tax Technical Knowledge Services group; Carolyn Wright, legal editor

Document ID: 2025-0739

 

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