EU launches retaliatory tariffs on US goods
London, June 22 : The European Union (EU) on Friday launched tariffs on some $3.2 billion worth of American goods, in retaliation for tariffs US President Donald Trump's administration imposed on imported steel and aluminium earlier this month.
The bloc slapped a 25 per cent tariff on American products such as whiskey, tobacco, Harley Davidson motorcycles, cranberries and peanut butter, reports The Independent.
They also leveraged another 50 per cent tax on select items such as footwear, some types of clothing and washing machines.
Speaking to the Irish Parliament on Thursday night, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU would "do what we have to do to rebalance and safeguard" against the US tariffs.
"It goes against all logic and history," he said of the US taxes.
"Our response must be clear but measured."
The statement echoed the words EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström remarks on Wednesday that the 28-member bloc was "left with no other choice" than to impose retaliatory measures.
The tariffs come weeks after the Trump administration implemented a 25 per cent tariff on steel and 10 per cent tariff on aluminium, affecting trade partners like Canada, Mexico, and the EU, The Independent reported.
Trump threatened additional taxes on European cars if the EU chose to retaliate. The EU has also filed a case with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), claiming Trump's tariffs were "pure protectionist" and "illegal".
They also threatened a second round of tariffs on some $4.3 billion worth of US products if the dispute was not resolved.
Mexico has already announced its own tariffs on US goods, and Canada's tariffs on nearly $13 billion of US products are set to take effect next month.
Trump has also imposed tariffs on other trade partners as well, slapping a 25 per cent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods last week.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
