The EU’s retaliatory tariffs on US goods have been postponed once more, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has confirmed. The retaliation measures, set to kick in on Tuesday, were in reaction to US President Donald Trump’s original import duties on steel and aluminium.
The EU’s countermeasures, which would have targeted € 21bn of US products, were initially suspended in March. The suspension has now been extended until the beginning of August, von der Leyen announced in a press conference on Sunday.
EU trade ministers will convene in Brussels on Monday to debate what to do. It follows that Trump composed a letter to von der Leyen, stating his intention to levy 30% tariffs on EU imports from 1 August.
He threatened that if the trade partner were to retaliate by putting up import duties of their own against America, he would retaliate in turn by increasing tariffs beyond 30%.
In a pre-taped interview with Fox News that aired on Saturday evening, Trump indicated some nations were “very upset now”, but he maintained the tariffs resulted in “hundreds of billions of dollars” pouring in.
Von der Leyen explained to reporters on Sunday: “The United States has written to us with steps that would take effect unless there is a negotiated outcome, so we will therefore also extend the suspension of our countermeasures until mid-August.
“Meanwhile, we will continue to prepare for the countermeasures so we’re best prepared. The president of the European Commission maintained that the EU “has always been very clear that we would like a negotiated solution”.
“This is still the case, and we will make use of the time we have now until August 1,” she said. EU trade ministers will gather on Monday in Brussels to decide how hard a line to take with Washington.
Germany’s finance minister, Lars Klingbeil, stated on Sunday that “serious and solution-oriented negotiations” with America were still required, but included that if they collapse, the EU would require “decisive countermeasures to protect jobs and businesses in Europe”.
“Our hand is still outstretched, but we will not accept anything,” Klingbeil said to the daily paper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. His remarks followed French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday calling for the European Commission, which represents all EU nations in talks, to “firmly defend European interests”.
The Trump administration, as of Saturday, has now put forth tariff terms to 24 nations and the EU, a 27-nation bloc. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on 12 April aimed to close “90 deals in 90 days”. To date, the president has stated the parameters of two such agreements with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, while talks with others are ongoing.
