The European Union announced today that it would suspend its retaliatory tariff on US goods for 90 days after American President Donald Trump imposed a similar pause on levies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged Trump’s announcement and confirmed the suspension of new tariffs on US goods for 90 days to facilitate negotiations.
However, she cautioned that countermeasures would be implemented if talks proved unsuccessful. Trump had previously imposed a 20 percent duty on EU goods as part of his broader tariff strategy against international trading partners, but offered a 90-day negotiation window to resolve trade concerns.
The European Union’s executive commission said Thursday it will put retaliation measures on hold for 90 days to match President Trump’s pause on his sweeping new tariffs on global trading partners and leave room for a negotiated solution.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the commission, which handles trade for the bloc’s 27 member countries, “took note of the announcement by President Trump.”
New tariffs on $23 billion of U.S. goods will be put on hold for 90 days because “we want to give negotiations a chance,” she said in a statement.
But she warned: “If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in.”
Trump imposed a 20% levy on goods from the EU as part of his onslaught of tariffs of 10% and upward against global trading partners but said Wednesday he will pause them for 90 days to give countries a chance to negotiate solutions to U.S. trade concerns.
Countries subject to the pause will face Trump’s 10% baseline tariff.
Before Trump’s announcement, EU member countries voted to approve a set of retaliatory tariffs on $23 billion in goods in response to his 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum that took effect in March. The EU, the largest trading partner of the U.S., described them as “unjustified and damaging.”
