EU trade reprisals to target US coal, cars, chemicals

BUCHAREST, Feb 24 (AFP): Europe could target American coal, cars and chemicals and firms like Caterpillar and Xerox if Washington imposes a threatened tariff on autos, a trade talks source told the news agency recently.
European officials are drawing up a list representing 20 billion euros ($22.7 billion) in retaliatory tariffs and are now getting into the detail of products produced by the likes of Ford, General Motors and Tesla.
A source in Bucharest, where EU trade ministers met Friday, said the final list could still evolve but targets products manufactured in the United States rather than those made elsewhere by US brands.
Europe would prefer to sign a wide-ranging trade deal with US President Donald Trump's administration, but stands ready to retaliate if he makes good on his threat to target EU car exports.
The hunt for a trade deal was part of a July truce between Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in which the US pledged to back off the auto duties and avert a trade war.
Debate over the contours of such a deal almost immediately underlined deep transatlantic divisions, however, with the US insisting that farming be included - an idea rejected by the EU.
But even Europe is divided over pursuing the deal.
Germany is eager to placate Trump in order to avoid the auto tariffs that would punish the country's cherished exports, a prospect Chancellor Angela Merkel labels "frightening".