THE European Commission called for industry views Friday on a list of U.S. products it will subject to import tariffs, the first step towards measures to counter planned U.S. taxes on European steel and aluminium.

The European Union (EU) wants to be exempted from U.S. duties of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium that U.S. President Donald Trump has approved. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom will meet this week to discuss the issue.

The 10-page list of products the EU may subject to tariffs ranges from rice to orange juice, makeup, motorcycles, motor boats and stainless sinks. It also includes many metals products for use in construction and industry.

Some of the products, worth 2.8 billion euros (US$3.4 billion), could be subject to duties within months. The EU says the U.S. cannot use national security as a justification for its metals tariffs, which means Europe can respond with “rebalancing” measures.

“We feel we are on very strong legal grounds,” an EU official said Friday.

A second group of products would only incur duties if the WTO later declared the U.S. tariffs illegal or after a period of three years.

The two product sets combined would aim to counter-balance the damage of U.S. measures to the bloc’s 6.4 billion euros of aluminium and steel exports to the United States.

The commission has asked “private stakeholders” affected by the U.S. tariffs and the EU’s possible response by March 26 after which it will present a formal proposal.

It would notify the World Trade Organization (WTO) of potential counter-measures by Friday, or within 60 days of U.S. tariffs coming into force. The European Union would have to enact those measures in the following month.(SD-Agencies)