The European Union on Thursday announced a plan to ramp up the pressure on the United States in hopes of prodding the Trump administration toward serious trade negotiations.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, announced two major steps that it could take to hit back. Officials laid out 95 billion euros ($107 billion) worth of goods that they could target with higher tariffs in retaliation for the duties the United States has announced or imposed. They also said the bloc would start a World Trade Organization dispute against the United States on both across-the-board tariffs and on duties on cars and car parts.

Neither measure will take effect immediately. Instead, European governments will spend the next month consulting on the list of American products that it could hit with higher tariffs. The proposed list includes some agricultural and food products, such as soybeans, meats and bourbon, along with manufactured goods that include sewing machines, airplane parts and car parts. It could also curb Europe’s own exports of key chemicals used in food processing, along with scrap metal.

The EU did not announce what the tariff rates on those products would be. But if it follows through on its threat, Boeing could be among the companies hit, a senior European official acknowledged. American food companies could also be affected.

“We believe there are good deals to be made for the benefit of consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in a statement announcing the plan. “At the same time, we continue preparing for all possibilities, and the consultation launched today will help guide us in this necessary work.”

EU officials are increasingly moving away from simply talking about how to retaliate and toward talking about a long-term rebalancing of its trade relationship with the United States. That is a recognition that at least some of the new tariffs might remain in place over the long term.

The EU’s latest announcement came after several waves of fresh tariffs from the United States were unveiled over the last few months.

The bloc has already taken some actions to respond. Last month, it approved plans for retaliatory measures to the steel and aluminum tariffs that would hit about $23 billion worth of American goods.

But it did so just hours before the Trump administration announced that it would pause the 20% across-the-board tariffs for 90 days, applying only a smaller 10% duty in their place.

EU officials responded by pausing their first wave of retaliatory tariffs as a sign of goodwill.

For now, the EU has been clear that its goal is to negotiate, and that if deal-making is successful, retaliation might be avoidable.

— New York Times

Bank of England cuts main interest rate

The Bank of England cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25% amid concerns over the potential shock to global growth emanating from the tariff policies of the Trump administration.

The decision Thursday was widely expected, though there was an array of opinion on the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, with two voting for a bigger half-point cut to 4%, and two voting to hold rates.

Bank Gov. Andrew Bailey said inflationary pressures have continued to ease, paving the way for the fourth quarter-point rate cut since August.

Fewer Americans file for unemployment

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week despite heightened uncertainty about how President Donald Trump’s tariffs will impact the U.S. and global economies.

Jobless claim applications fell by 13,000 to 228,000 for the week ending May 3, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s in line with the 229,000 new applications analysts forecast.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, and have mostly bounced around a healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 since COVID-19 decimated the economy and wiped out millions of jobs.

Mortgage rates hold steady at high levels

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. held steady this week, not far from its highest levels this year, but below where it was a year ago.

The rate stood at 6.76% for the second week in a row, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.09%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, eased. The average rate dropped to 5.89% from 5.92% last week. It’s down from 6.38% a year ago, Freddie Mac said.

— From news services