France, March 13 -- The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action with a series of duties on US industrial and agricultural products that will go into effect from 1 April, responding to the Trump administration increase intariffs on all steel and aluminum importsto 25 percent.

The EU measures will cover goods from the United States worth some €26 billion, and apart from steel and aluminum products, will include textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods. Motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans will also be hit.

The European Commission, which manages trade- and commercial coflicts for the bloc, said in a statement on Wednesday that the EU steps are a'carefully calibrated' response to Washington's ta...