Photo taken on May 23, 2025 shows European Union flags at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)

The EU on Monday unveiled a list of US goods worth €72 billion ($84 billion) it could target with tariffs if trade talks fail, after Trump threatened to hit EU exports with 30 percent duties from August 1, according to multiple news outlets. 

Brussels says it is still seeking a deal to avoid a tit-for-tat escalation in the trade war but is poised to retaliate if needed.

The bloc's trade chief, Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, announced the proposal, "accounting for some 72 billion euros' worth of US imports," at a meeting with EU ministers in Brussels, according to French media outlet france24.com.

According to the politico.eu, the second round of trade countermeasures include aircraft, cars and car parts.

The bulk of those exports targeted are industrial goods, totaling €65.7 billion, while €6.4 billion in agricultural products would also be hit if EU countries back the new retaliatory tariffs.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen condemned the US administration's threat to impose 30 percent tariffs on EU exports as "absolutely unacceptable" at a joint press conference with Sefcovic on Monday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Rasmussen, whose country is currently holding the EU's rotating presidency, revealed that the EU will react with robust and proportionate countermeasures if required.

EU trade ministers agreed they were still keen to secure an agreement with Washington before that deadline to head off the damaging duties. 

The EU has already prepared a separate list of US imports worth 21 billion euros that it is ready to target over earlier tariffs from the US on steel and aluminum. 

On Monday, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen said that the bloc will extend the suspension of trade countermeasures against the US until August 1 to allow for further talks.

US President Donald Trump announced on social media on Saturday that a 30 percent tariff on the EU and Mexico will take effect starting August 1, 2025. 

In response, French President Emmanuel Macron called for accelerating the preparation of credible countermeasures, by mobilizing all instruments at the bloc's disposal, including anti-coercion, if no agreement is reached by August 1, per the French leader's social media account.

The US administration is also planning to raise tariffs on Canada to 35 percent, impose a 25 percent tariffs on imports from Japan and the Republic of Korea and implement a 50 percent tariff on all imports from Brazil starting August 1.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced Monday the formation of an interministerial committee to coordinate economic and trade countermeasures to protect the country's economy, the Xinhua reported.

The US administration's tariff revenues are hitting record-highs, generating $100 billion so far this year, according to a report on foxbusiness.com on Monday.

According to a blog post at the World Bank dated July 7, WB economists "expect global trade growth to slow markedly this year, largely because of the cumulative effects of higher tariffs and elevated policy uncertainty, with annual trade growth forecast to decelerate from 3.4 percent in 2024 to around 1.8 percent in 2025."

Global Times