EU puts tariffs on hold for 90 days to match Trump’s pause

The European Union’s executive commission said Thursday it will put its retaliation measures against new US tariffs on hold for 90 days to match President Donald Trump’s pause on his sweeping new tariffs and leave room for a negotiated solution.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the commission, which handles trade for the 27 member countries, “took note of the announcement by President Trump”.

New tariffs on €20.9 billion (US$23 billion) of US 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 per cent levy on goods from the EU as part of his onslaught of tariffs against global trading partners but has said he will pause them for 90 days to give countries a chance to negotiate solutions to US trade concerns.

“I have authorised a 90 day PAUSE,” Trump said, after recognising the more than 75 countries that he said have been negotiating on trade and had not retaliated against his latest increases in tariffs. Countries subject to the pause will now be tariffed at 10 per cent. The EU’s rate was 20 per cent, but it was not entirely clear how the 27-nation bloc would be impacted.

China was not included. Trump further jacked up the tax rate on Chinese imports to 125 per cent.

Von der Leyen described the halt on reciprocal tariffs as “an important step towards stabilising the global economy. Clear, predictable conditions are essential for trade and supply chains to function”.

Before Trump’s announcement on Wednesday, EU member countries voted to approve retaliatory tariffs on US$23 billion in goods in response to his 25 per cent tariffs on imported steel and aluminium. The EU, the largest trading partner of the US, described them as “unjustified and damaging”.

Members of the EU – the world’s largest trading bloc – repeated their preference for a negotiated deal to settle trade issues, and von der Leyen underscored that commitment, “with the goal of achieving frictionless and mutually beneficial trade”.

Still, the head of the EU’s executive branch – which negotiates trade deals and disputes on behalf of the member countries – said that Europe intends to diversify its trade partnerships.

She said that the EU will continue “engaging with countries that account for 87 per cent of global trade and share our commitment to a free and open exchange of goods, services, and ideas”, and to lift barriers to commerce inside its own single market.

“Together, Europeans will emerge stronger from this crisis,” von der Leyen said.