Following Donald Trump's authorisation of a 90-day pause in his sweeping tariffs, the European Commission said on Thursday that it will put on hold its retaliatory duties on hold for 90 days to match Trump's decision. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU will suspend the tariffs it imposed in response to Trump's sweeping duties, according to a report.
Here's what Ursula von der Leyen said
“While finalising the adoption of the EU countermeasures that saw strong support from our member states, we will put them on hold for 90 days,” Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement. “If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in,” she added.
Earlier, Trump slapped the EU with a 20% levy on goods as part of his onslaught of tariffs of 10%. However, he said on Wednesday that he will pause them for 90 days to give countries a chance to negotiate solutions to US 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 US, described them as “unjustified and damaging.”
EU seeks to reach a trade deal with US
Members of the EU, which forms the world's largest trading bloc, have said they would like to reach a negotiated deal with the US to resolve the trade war that can potentially damage the economies on both sides in the long run, along with immediate shortcomings.
The EU is also working on a fresh set of countermeasures as its retaliatory measure to Trump's blanket 20% tariff on all European goods, which currently remains suspended.
These measures can prove to be detrimental to the tech companies and the services sector, as well as trade in goods.
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