The EU wants to impose duties on U.S. imported “leather goods” from April. Of what value? It’s not yet known. The move is part of the response the European Commission filed this morning, March 12, to coincide with the entry into force of U.S. 25% duties on aluminum and steel imports. Starting April 1, Brussels will reinstate tariffs on some U.S. products. In the middle of the month, customs barriers will be raised against a long list of additional products, including textiles and leather goods.
The exchange of courtesies
The EU wanted countermeasures to “protect itself” from President Trump’s “unjustified trade restrictions” on aluminum and steel. Restrictions that, inevitably, will also affect sectors close to the leather supply chain. Which ones? Tannery machinery, shoe and leather goods manufacturers, or to molds for shoe bottoms. The European response consists of two steps. The first is to let the suspension of countermeasures launched in 2018 and 2020 to respond to the trade war of the first Trump mandate expire on April 1.
So some U.S. goods such as boats, bourbon and motorcycles will be subject to duties again (the list is being finalized). The second phase will go into effect by mid-April, with European duties on a new list of products, including textiles and leather goods, writes Repubblica. Now, after the EU gauntlet, the fear is that Trump will respond on the same level and that the escalation of the trade war will directly involve the fashion and luxury worlds.
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