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.

  

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