The EU plans to restrict imports of US agricultural products in response to the US reciprocal tariff policy

London/Munich (Reuters) - The European Union plans to restrict imports of food that does not meet EU standards in order to protect the interests of European farmers, sources familiar with the matter said. The plan is in response to US President Donald Trump's forthcoming reciprocal tariffs.

The European Union is expected to discuss tougher export restrictions to the United States next week, the Financial Times said Sunday, citing three officials familiar with the matter. The first targets could be restrictions on imports of agricultural products such as soybeans grown with pesticides banned in the EU.

Trump announced on February 13 that he would implement reciprocal tariffs, imposing the same level of tariffs on every trading partner and every commodity. The policy was one of Trump's core campaign promises, which he sees as a key measure to ensure fair trade and revitalize U.S. manufacturing, and is scheduled to be implemented as soon as April 2.

Iwaya hopes the United States will not impose reciprocal tariffs on Japanese exports

According to a transcript of the talks released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 15th, Japanese Foreign Minister Takashi Iwaya met with US Secretary of State Rubio on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference and proposed that Japan should be excluded from the reciprocal tariff list.

"I conveyed to Rubio my idea that Japan should not be one of the countries subject to reciprocal tariffs," Mr Iwaya said. He also raised the issue of auto tariffs and asked the United States to exempt 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products.

However, Trump has criticized Japan's trade surplus with the United States and the depreciation of the yen for exacerbating the trade imbalance between the two countries, and has named Japan and South Korea as countries that "take advantage of the United States."

South Korea is one of the main steel suppliers to the United States, accounting for 13 percent of total steel imports last year. Analysts believe that Trump's new tariff policy may cause a major ripple effect on South Korea's steel industry and the overall economy.

Despite this, the South Korean government is optimistic about the US tariff policy. South Korea's acting president Choi Sang-mok said he would conduct a comprehensive review of non-tariff barriers in response to reciprocal US tariffs. However, he also said that with a free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the United States, the tariff rate is low, and the impact of reciprocal tariff measures on the South Korean economy is likely to be small.