BRUSSELS — The European Union will suspend for 90 days its countermeasures against the U.S. in response to President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, to buy time to negotiate a trade deal, Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday.
The European Commission president announced the concession after Trump pulled a U-turn Wednesday on the punishing “reciprocal” tariffs he announced on “Liberation Day” just over a week ago.
“We want to give negotiations a chance,” von der Leyen said in a social media post. “While finalising the adoption of the EU countermeasures that saw strong support from our Member States, we will put them on hold for 90 days.”
In a stunning move, Trump on Wednesday halved the 20 percent tariff he announced on the EU on April 2, bringing it into line with a 10 percent universal tariff he has set for most countries. At the same time, he jacked up tariffs on China to 125 percent in an escalating tit-for-tat trade battle between the world’s two largest economies.
