European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Sunday that they were pausing retaliatory tariffs on the United States. File Photo by Olivier Matthys/EPA-EFE
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced that Europe’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods have been delayed to allow more time for negotiations.
The retaliatory measures, worth about $24 billion, were to go into effect on Monday. They were first announced in March in response to Trump’s imposing a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, and were previously paused for talks between the two governments.
On Saturday, Trump announced an additional 30% tariff would go into effect on EU goods starting Aug. 1. In a letter to von der Leyen, he explained that if the EU retaliated, whatever percentage of tariff they responded with would be added to the EU’s overall levy.
During a press conference Sunday, alongside Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, she said their retaliatory measures have been paused until Aug. 1.
“This is very important. This is now the time for negotiations,” she said. “But this also shows are are prepared for all eventual scenarios.”
She told reporters that they have always preferred to negotiate a solution with the United States and that “we will use the time that we have now until the first of August.”
If an agreement is not reached with the United States, she said they are prepared to respond.
“We’ve prepared for this and we can respond with countermeasures if necessary,” she said.
Trump has turned to tariffs as a tool to even out trade deficits, as a negotiation tactic and as an attempt to spur the domestic manufacturing industry.
The U.S. trade deficit with the 27-member EU was $235.6 billion last year, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
