EU pauses counter-tariffs after Trump backs down
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said the European Union will pause their reciprocal tariffs against the US, but warned it will hit back if trade negotiations fail.
In a post on X, von der Leyen said: “We want to give negotiations a chance…
“If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in.”
She said countermeasures would be on hold for 90 days, but stressed preparatory work would continue.
“As I have said before, all options remain on the table,” she added.
The 27-state bloc had approved a three-stage retaliatory measure against the US on Wednesday, before Trump announced a surprise 90-day pause on new tariffs for all countries except China.
President Donald Trump’s climb down had financial markets soaring, after trade war escalations sent stocks across the globe into the red.
The EU planned to tax €21bn (£18bn) of US goods, with farm products a key target.
The levies targeted politically sensitive American states, including products such as soybeans, agricultural products, poultry and motorcycles.
Hungary was the only country not to vote for the countermeasures.
Trump slapped a 20 per cent import tax on the EU during his ‘Liberation Day’ speech. This followed on from a separate 25 per cent levy on cars and auto parts.
The President’s tariffs were set to hit around €380 billion (£326bn) of EU goods.
Along with China, the EU has been one of Trump’s top targets. The President claimed the customs union was formed to “screw” the US and its trade-in-goods surplus reflected an unfair relationship.
Under the EU’s plans, the first batch of tariffs would have begun on 15 April, with €3.9bn (£3.3bn) of goods affected.
The second stage would kick in a month later on 15 May, impacting €13.5bn (£11.6bn) of goods. The final phase would add a further €3.5bn (£3bn) from 1 December.