US additional tariffs of 20% on EU goods

Overview

As previously announced, the US administration has introduced far-reaching reciprocal tariffs against the US's most important trading partners. The additional tariffs will take effect on April 5 and have been set individually for each of the most important trading partners. For many countries, the additional tariff is 10%. For the EU, it is 20%, and for China, it is 34%.

Details

The additional tariffs will be introduced in two steps: The US will generally introduce additional tariffs of 10% for almost all countries, which will take effect on April 5. For some countries whose trade deficit with the US is considered very high, the additional tariffs will increase individually. These individual additional tariffs will take effect on April 9. For the EU, this results in a total additional tariff of 20%, for China 34%, Japan 24%, South Korea 25%, and Switzerland 31%. No individual additional tariff has been set for the United Kingdom and Australia, so an additional tariff of 10% applies. However, the additional tariffs do not apply to Russia, Cuba, Belarus, and North Korea. Canada and Mexico are also not affected by these additional tariffs, as US President Trump already introduced additional tariffs of 25% for Canada and Mexico in March.

The additional tariffs apply to almost all goods. However, exceptions include copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and wood products, energy, and certain minerals that are not available in the US. Vehicles and steel and aluminum products are also exempt from the additional tariffs, as additional tariffs for steel and aluminum products already came into effect in March, and additional tariffs of 25% for vehicles came into effect on April 3. Starting in May, the 25% additional tariff will also apply to auto parts such as engines, transmissions, lithium-ion batteries, and tires.

Additional tariffs introduced by the US administration in February and March

The US administration's first tariff-related measure was the introduction of additional tariffs of 10% on Chinese goods, effective February 4, 2025. This additional tariff was increased to 20% at the beginning of March. For Chinese goods, the additional tariffs announced on April 2 apply in addition to the 20% additional tariffs in effect since March 4, resulting in a total additional tariff of 54% on Chinese goods.Since March 4, 2025 additional tariffs of 20% have been in effect on almost all imported goods from Canada and Mexico.

During his first term in 2018, US President Trump introduced additional tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum. However, after discussions with the EU and other Western countries, these tariffs were suspended, including for the EU. However, as of March 12, 2025, a 25% tariff has been reinstated on steel and aluminum imports. The additional tariffs apply to steel and aluminum goods, as well as to certain steel and aluminum-containing products, regardless of the country from which they are imported into the US.

Furthermore, since April 2, an additional tariff of 25% has been in effect for all countries that import oil or natural gas from Venezuela. The US administration is currently examining which countries are subject to these additional tariffs.

EU Countermeasures

In addition to Canada, Mexico, and China, the EU has also adopted countermeasures. As a first step, the EU is expected to reintroduce additional tariffs of up to 50% on whiskey, jeans, motorcycles, peanut butter, corn, and various other goods in mid-April. As a second step, the EU published a list of other goods for which additional tariffs can be levied. Following the announcement of the reciprocal additional tariffs, the EU announced further countermeasures are likely, as the imposition of a digital goods tax.

Conclusion

Until now, tariff rates for most industrial goods were between 1 and 5%, and import tariffs were a negligible factor. With the introduction of various additional tariffs by the US administration, tariffs have once again become a focus for companies. Companies should, in any case, examine whether the tariff burden can be further optimized through special economic customs procedures. Since the additional tariffs are based on the non-preferential origin of the goods, it is essential for companies to verify the origin of the goods. Furthermore, the additional tariffs are additive: The additional tariffs apply in addition to the existing US import tariffs. For vehicles, for example, this is 2.5%, so the total import tariff for vehicles is now 27.5%. Even though decisions on US additional tariffs were made by the US at very short notice and can also be changed at short notice, companies should determine the extent to which they are directly or indirectly affected by the US additional tariffs, for example, as a supplier.