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EU prepared to retaliate against planned steel and

aluminum

tariff increases

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Tariffs take effect on June 4

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Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Australia denounce tariff

hike

(Recasts, adds background and details throughout)

BRUSSELS, May 31 (Reuters) - The European Commission

said on Saturday that Europe was prepared to retaliate against

President Donald Trump's plan to double tariffs on imported

steel and aluminum, raising the prospect of an escalating trade

fight between two of the world's largest economic powers.

Trump's announcement on Friday that he would increase

tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%,

intensifies his global trade war and came just hours after he

accused China of violating an agreement with the U.S. to

mutually roll back levies and trade restrictions for critical

minerals.

The European Commission said it "strongly" regrets Trump's

plan to increase tariffs, adding it "undermines ongoing efforts

to reach a negotiated solution."

"This decision adds further uncertainty to the global

economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both

sides of the Atlantic," a European Commission spokesperson said,

adding that "the (European Union) is prepared to impose

countermeasures."

The spokesperson noted that the European Union had paused

its countermeasures to create space for continued negotiations.

"The European Commission is currently finalising

consultations on expanded countermeasures. If no mutually

acceptable solution is reached, both existing and additional EU

measures will automatically take effect on 14 July - or earlier,

if circumstances require," the spokesperson added.

Trump announced the higher tariffs just outside Pittsburgh,

where he was talking up an agreement between Nippon Steel ( NISTF )

and U.S. Steel. Trump said the $14.9 billion

deal, like the tariff increase, will help keep jobs for steel

workers in the U.S.

He later posted on social media that the increased tariff

would also apply to aluminum products and that it would take

effect on Wednesday.

The planned U.S. move ratchets up pressure on global

steel producers, and has sparked protests from trading partners

around the world.

Canada's Chamber of Commerce quickly denounced the tariff

hike as "antithetical to North American economic security."

"Unwinding the efficient, competitive and reliable

cross-border supply chains like we have in steel and aluminum

comes at a great cost to both countries," Candace Laing,

president of the chamber, said in a statement.

Canada's United Steelworkers union on Saturday called the

move a direct attack on Canadian industries and workers.

Australia's centre-left government also condemned the tariff

increase, with Trade Minister Don Farrell calling it

"unjustified and not the act of a friend."

The U.S. is the world's largest steel importer, excluding

the European Union, with a total of 26.2 million tons of

imported steel in 2024, according to the Department of Commerce.

As a result, the new tariffs will likely increase steel prices

across the board, hitting industry and consumers alike.

Steel and aluminum tariffs were among the earliest put into

effect by Trump when he returned to office in January. The

tariffs of 25% on most steel and aluminum imported to the U.S.

went into effect in March, and he had briefly threatened a 50%

levy on Canadian steel but ultimately backed off.