The European Union has delayed retaliatory tariffs on exports from the United States as officials scramble to reach a trade deal with Washington ahead of US President Donald Trump’s August 1 deadline. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that the bloc would extend its suspension of countermeasures as it continued negotiations with the Trump administration.
“We have always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution,” von der Leyen added. “This remains the case, and we will use the time that we have now until the 1st of August.” At the same time, the EU will continue to prepare for countermeasures, so it’s fully prepared.
The EU’s announcement comes after Trump unveiled plans to slap a 30% tariff on European and Mexican exports from August 1. The EU had announced retaliatory tariffs on 26 billion euros ($30 billion) of US exports in response to Trump’s duties on steel and aluminum. However, the bloc paused the measures for 90 days after Trump announced he would delay the implementation of his so-called “reciprocal tariffs.”
EU trade ministers are scheduled to convene in Brussels on Monday to discuss options for responding to Trump’s latest tariff threats. White House Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett said on Sunday that Trump was not happy with the “sketches of deals” presented by US trade partners so far and that their offers would “need to be better.”
“These tariffs are real if the president doesn’t get a deal that he thinks is good enough, but, you know, conversations are ongoing, and we’ll see where the dust settles,” Hassett told ABC News’s This Week.
The value of EU-US trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. Taken together, EU member countries are the US’s largest trading partner.
The delay in tariffs could provide a temporary reprieve for industries on both sides of the Atlantic, allowing businesses to continue operations without the immediate threat of increased costs. Analysts suggest that the postponement of tariffs could help prevent further disruptions in sectors such as agriculture, automotive, and consumer goods, which are heavily impacted by transatlantic trade policies.