EU Hits Pause on US Tariffs, Aiming for a Deal by August 1
The EU will halt retaliatory tariffs on US goods set to begin Monday, aiming to secure a trade deal with the Trump administration by month’s end. “This is now the time for negotiations,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday, following President Donald Trump’s letter announcing new tariffs of 30% on goods from the EU and Mexico starting Aug 1.
The EU, America’s biggest trading partner and the world’s largest trading bloc, was set to impose “countermeasures”. The EU conducts trade negotiations for its 27 member states. Von der Leyen stated that the countermeasures would be postponed until August 1, adding that Trump’s letter indicates “that we have until the first of August” to engage in negotiations. European leaders have called on Trump and von der Leyen to extend negotiations. “We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution,” she stated. “If they can’t reach a deal, we will continue to prepare countermeasures so we are fully prepared,” she said.
Trump stated that his global tariffs would lay the groundwork for revitalizing a US economy he asserts has been exploited by other countries for decades. In a letter to the European Union, Trump stated that the US trade deficit posed a national security threat. US trade partners have endured months of uncertainty and intermittent threats from Trump regarding tariff imposition, with deadlines frequently extended or altered. The tariffs may impact nearly every facet of the global economy.
In 2024, the value of EU-US trade in goods and services reached 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion), averaging 4.6 billion euros daily, as reported by the EU statistics agency Eurostat. Europe’s largest exports to the US included pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits.
