The Trump steel and aluminum tariffs will take effect today, and the trade war between the United States and Europe is escalating: The European Union's retaliatory tariffs of 26 billion euros are being implemented.

On March 12 local time, the European Commission announced retaliatory measures against the United States' steel and aluminum tariff policy, planning to impose tariffs on US goods worth 260 billion euros (approximately 283 billion US dollars). It is understood that the policy proposed by US President Trump to impose a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imported into the United States is set to take effect on March 12 as planned, marking a significant escalation in the trade war between the two long-standing allies. The European Commission stated in a statement that it will take "swift and appropriate" measures. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic visited Washington last month in an attempt to find a friendly solution with senior members of the Trump team, including US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. He proposed lowering tariffs on industrial goods, including cars, and increasing imports of US liquefied natural gas and defense products. However, Sefcovic said on Monday that the US government did not seem actively seeking an agreement. For Europe, the scale of the new tariffs is almost four times that imposed during Trump's first term in office. At the time, the US imposed tariffs on nearly $7 billion of metal exports from the EU citing national security concerns. Furthermore, Trump also announced that in early April, equivalent tariffs would be imposed on policies considered trade obstacles by partner countries, including value-added tax in Europe, and on certain goods including European cars. Brussels had previously stated that it would respond promptly and proportionately to any US actions, and has been studying and preparing lists of goods to target for several months. These lists include politically sensitive products from certain US districts, aimed at inflicting greater economic damage on the US than on the European economy. In the European steel market, producers are preparing for the double impact: European exports to the US will decrease, while imports into the region will increase with metal shifting from the US. A spokesperson for the European Steel Association said that the new tariffs will change the direction of steel supplies originally intended for the US market, further flooding the EU market. Aluminum producers are also preparing for a surge in imports, especially from Canada. Canada typically supplies over half of the aluminum imported by the US. On Tuesday, Trump announced that tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports would double to 50%. The dispute over US metal tariffs began during Trump's first term in 2018 when the US imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum exports citing national security concerns. In retaliation, the EU imposed retaliatory tariffs on politically sensitive industries, including Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Levi's jeans. In 2021, the two sides reached a temporary ceasefire agreement where the US partially lifted measures and introduced a tariff quota system, imposing tariffs on metal exceeding the quota, while the EU suspended all retaliatory measures. Now, all suspended metal tariffs will be fully reinstated, including some that were never previously implemented. As a first step, the tariffs that were previously suspended on US products worth approximately $8 billion will be reinstated by the end of March.