EU Pauses Counter-Tariffs After Trump Holds Off on Reciprocal Duties
The EU announced on April 10 that it has placed its planned counter-tariffs on hold for 90 days following President Donald Trump's April 9 decision to withdraw his reciprocal tariffs on most countries (see 2504090069).
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EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement that she welcomes Trump's pause on reciprocal tariffs: "It's an important step towards stabilising the global economy."
The EU member states on April 9 had approved an unspecified raft of countermeasures against U.S. goods in retaliation for its tariffs on steel and aluminum (see 2504090018).
In a separate statement, von der Leyen said that the EU wants to "give negotiations a chance." However, she warned that if the negotiations are not "satisfactory," then "our countermeasures will kick in."
She said that "preparatory work on further countermeasures" is ongoing and that "all options remain on the table."
At a Cabinet meeting on April 10, Trump said that the EU was "smart" to withdraw. "They were ready to announce retaliation and then they heard about what we did with respect to China and ... they said, 'you know, we're going to hold back a little bit' ... they decided to hold back. I thought they were very smart."