Bracing for trade war, EU drafts list of US products to be hit in retaliation over steel tariffs

Friday, March 22nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(BRUSSELS, Belgium) - Digging itself in for a trans-Atlantic trade war, the European Union head office sent the 15 EU governments a list of U.S. products to be hit with punitive import taxes in retaliation for duties Washington has imposed on European steel imports.

EU spokesman Anthony Gooch said Friday that EU governments will review the list and the economic impact it will have and may suggest changes in the coming weeks. The revised list is expected to be sent to the World Trade Organization by May 20 at the latest.

Gooch declined to specify which American exports would be hit hardest. He said under WTO rules retaliation could come by June 18.

Sources familiar with the case but speaking on condition of anonymity have said the EU hit list includes steel, textiles and citrus products.

The Wall Street Journal-Europe said Friday that Harley Davidson motorcycles, recreational guns and ammunition would also be targeted.

This month, U.S. President George W. Bush imposed tariffs of up to 30 percent on steel imports _ a move seen as a payoff to states where Bush fought hard to win the presidential election.

European retaliation would be most strongly felt in these same states, most notably Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, the WSJ-Europe wrote.

Gooch said the United States can still escape retaliation by paying compensation in the amount of 2.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion) a year.

The United States has said it is not ready to do so.

The EU will soon unveil measures to prevent foreign exporters to flood the European market with products that find no more takers in the United States.

EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy has said Europe will not allow up to 16 millions tons of excess steel to flood the European market, depressing prices and putting jobs at risk.

The Commission had been expected to announce details of its retaliation earlier in the week, but officials said more time was needed to assess the impact of the American tariffs on the EU industry and to make sure any safeguard measures would comply with international trade rules.

The EU tariff is calculated on how much steel came into the EU between 1999 and 2001.

Last year, imports reached 26.6 million tons, up from 25.4 million in 2000. Between 1999 and 2001, steel imports into the EU averaged 24.7 million tons a year, according to EU figures.

Unless American and EU officials can find a settlement in 60 days, the Europeans can ask the WTO to appoint a panel of trade law experts to make a legally binding ruling.

Last year, the EU exported more than 6 million tons of steel products worth $4.5 billion into the United States, or 28 percent of total EU steel exports.