EU suspends countermeasures amid US trade talks
The European Union has decided to suspend, until July 14, its countermeasures against the unjustified tariffs announced by the United States, according to a statement released Monday on the European Commission’s website.
This measure, taken by Brussels, is intended to allow time for negotiations with Washington.
The suspension was first announced last week by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to Agerpres.
The decision delays for 90 days the implementation of EU-imposed tariffs on US imports and mirrors the US move to postpone, for the same period, its additional duties exceeding the basic 10% tariff applied to imported goods.
In total, the suspended EU countermeasures affect €21 billion worth of American exports.
As part of EU efforts to find a negotiated solution, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations, and Transparency, Maroš Šefčovič, is in Washington on Monday for exploratory talks with US officials.
“We want to give negotiations a chance,” von der Leyen said last week. “But if the talks fail to deliver, the EU’s countermeasures will take effect,” she added.
Tariff conflict put on hold
In addition to the countermeasures now suspended in response to the US-imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, Brussels is continuing preparations for possible further retaliatory measures.
On February 10, the US announced it would impose 25% tariffs on steel, aluminium, and derivative products. Von der Leyen soon warned that such tariffs were “bad for businesses and even worse for consumers” and vowed a strong and proportional European response. The US tariffs took effect on March 12.
In response, the EU drafted a swift and proportionate plan to impose countermeasures on US exports, while consistently reiterating its preference for a negotiated solution with Washington.
On April 9, EU member states voted in favour of the Commission’s proposal. Within hours, the US announced a 90-day suspension of additional tariffs exceeding the standard 10% rate—excluding those targeting China. Following this announcement, the European Commission also decided to suspend the EU-approved retaliatory tariffs in response to last month’s 25% US duties on imports of steel, aluminium, vehicles, and auto parts.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
