The European Commission has announced that it intends to merge two previously prepared separate lists of American goods that are to be included in potential retaliatory measures against the US president's import tariffs. By doing so, Brussels wants to strengthen its negotiating position before the final part of the talks with Washington. August 1 is the deadline until which US President Donald Trump has frozen tariffs on most European products traveling to the US. If an agreement is not reached by then, the US is expected to impose 30% tariffs.

Which American goods are facing tariffs?

The first package, worth 21 billion euros, which includes agricultural products such as soybeans and Harley Davidson motorcycles, was approved by member states in April and is due to enter into force on August 7. It mainly concerns products manufactured in US states, which are crucial for the Republican Party in maintaining its majority in Congress.

The second list, which has not yet been made public but was read to reporters from some Brussels media outlets, will be voted on by EU countries and is likely to be approved on Thursday. It includes products whose imports from the US amounted to 72 billion euros last year. First and foremost, these are products of American industry, such as cars and aircraft. The list also includes factory machinery, car parts and spirits.

This is a list that was created based on the responses that member states provided to Brussels to the first proposal published in early May, which was even more comprehensive. Based on the comments, some medical devices and laboratory equipment in particular were removed from the list.

From the very beginning, oil and petroleum products, which are the largest categories in European-American trade, were excluded from the list of possible tariffs.

Simplifying European retaliation measures

"While our priority is the negotiations, we continue to prepare for all possible outcomes, including possible additional counter-attacks," European Commission Trade Spokesperson Olof Gill said in a statement."To make our counter-attacks clearer, simpler and stronger, we will merge the two lists into a single list, effective from 7 August, and submit it to EU member states for approval."

Gill added that European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič will hold talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later on Wednesday, after briefing EU ambassadors on the current state of EU-US negotiations.

Trump's tariffs have been postponed several times

The first package, worth 21 billion euros, was originally scheduled to be launched in April, but was delayed after Trump temporarily froze his massive tariffs against all countries with a large trade surplus with the United States. This includes the European Union, which Trump announced in April would impose 20 percent tariffs on almost all European goods, and last week Trump threatened 30 percent tariffs if a deal was not reached by August.

After returning to the White House in January, Trump has already imposed a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, a 25% tax on cars, and a 10% general duty on goods from the EU.

The European Union created a surplus in goods trade with the United States last year of 198 billion euros, while it had a deficit in services of 148 billion euros, according to EU data.