Answer given by Mr Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission

15.5.2025

The Commission regrets the decision of the United States (US) to impose tariffs on EU exports of steel and aluminium on 12 March 2025. The Commission sees no justification for these tariffs. The Commission has emphasised to the US its wish to work together to address global overcapacities in these sectors and that the EU is not the problem — but is part of the solution. The Commission’s policy for the promotion of agricultural products allows specific promotion arrangements in case the markets would be disturbed. The recently published Commission legislative proposal to support the wine sector[1], includes an amendment to increase the duration of support for promotion operations under wine sectorial interventions, to allow for better market consolidation.

The Commission has also removed all the alcoholic products which were part of the package of countermeasures to the US steel and aluminium tariffs and of the published list for consultation. This includes bourbon, wine, and other spirits . The current exclusion keeps space for de-escalation and preserves room for negotiation. However, the Commission remains fully committed to defending its interests.

Finally, in light of the decision by the US to delay by 90 days its country-specific universal tariffs on EU exports at a level of 20%, the EU has decided to put its countermeasures on EUR 21 billion of US exports on hold for the same length of time.

The Commission’s priority remains to achieve a mutually beneficial negotiated solution.

• [1] COM(2025) 137 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52025PC0137