The European Union is planning to retaliate against President Bush's recent steel tariffs by targeting states politically important to the White House.
The
Wall Street Journal
reported today the EU is preparing a list of US imported products valued at $2.1 billion annually that could be hit with heavy tariffs.
Many of the targeted industries are in states such as Florida, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where Mr Bush battled for his narrow victory in the 2000 elections, the paper reported.
The potential list includes items such as orange juice, motorcycles, textiles and steel products, the paper reported.
The strategy is to get the White House to change policy by hurting regions and companies the Bush administration needs politically, the newspaper reported, citing EU trade commissioner Mr Pascal Lamy.
But the EU is at least a year away from imposing retaliatory tariffs on US goods and hopes its pressure will make them unnecessary, the Journalsaid.
Mr Bush's administration has infuriated Europe by announcing tariffs of up to 30 per cent on steel from many countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America. EU steel industry officials say their losses from the tariffs will amount to some $2 billion a year.