EU to put counter tariffs against US on hold for 90 days as Trump announces pause

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The European Union will delay for 90 days the implementation of its counter tariffs against the US over the 25% duties President Donald Trump imposed last month on the bloc’s steel and aluminum exports.

The EU will move forward with the tariffs that would hit around €21 billion ($23.2 billion) of US goods and then immediately suspend them when they take effect, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The move comes just hours after Trump announced a 90-day pause before a 20% “reciprocal” tariff rate was set to hit nearly all EU exports. That rate will now be 10%.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she wants to give negotiations with the US a chance.

“If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in,” she wrote on X. “Preparatory work on further countermeasures continues. As I have said before, all options remain on the table.”

In addition to the 25% tariff on EU steel and aluminum exports, the US hit the bloc’s cars and some auto parts with a 25% levy. Trump has said he’ll announce additional tariffs on lumber, semiconductor chips and pharmaceutical products.

Trump has repeatedly attacked the EU, the US’s largest trading partner, saying it was formed to “screw” the US and that the bloc’s trade-in-goods surplus is evidence of an unfair relationship. The EU’s trade weighted average tariff rate was 2.7% in 2023, according to World Trade Organization data.

“They come up with rules and regulations that are just designed for one reason: that you can’t sell your product in those countries,” Trump said earlier this week. “And we’re not going to let that happen.”