Europe delays tariffs on US whisky to make time to negotiate, protect ties

BRUSSELS: Officials from the European Union said on Thursday that they would delay their retaliation against President Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, including 50% levies on American whisky and other goods, until the middle of next month.
The move is meant to give officials time to refine the list of products that will be hit while also allowing more time to strike a deal with the US, said spokesperson Olof Gill. The first wave of tariffs were originally set to kick in March 31, with a second wave coming a few weeks later.
The postponement could allow officials to reconsider whether they want to impose such big tariffs on sensitive products like bourbon. And it comes as Europe tries to prevent its trading relationship with the US - arguably the globe's most important - from devolving into a tit-for-tat trade war that costs consumers and companies on both sides of the Atlantic.
"EU and the US enjoy the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world," said EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic. "It should be a priority for both sides to protect and further develop this relationship." Sefcovic talked to his US counterparts last week. He said he'd learned Trump administration didn't want to negotiate until after April 2, when the US is expected to announce an even more sweeping round of tariffs on its trading partners.
The negotiation delay has complicated the original start date for Europe's retaliatory tariffs, which EU policymakers had hoped would be a tool to prod Americans to the negotiating table. Trump has said he would impose a 200% tariff on Champagne, wine and other alcohol to retaliate against Europe's plan to hit American whiskey in particular. That threat has stoked alarm among European leaders from wine-producing nations. Giorgia Meloni, Italy's PM, has warned against a "vicious circle" of trade measures, and French PM Francois Bayrou has said Europe is at risk of "hitting the wrong targets."