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CNN
—
The European Union will delay the implementation of its trade countermeasures against the United States from Monday until early August to allow more time to negotiate a deal.
At a news conference on Sunday, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, referenced the letter the United States sent to the bloc Saturday, which threatened to impose a 30% tariff on European goods exports on August 1 absent a trade agreement.
“We will therefore also extend the suspension of our countermeasures till early August,” she said at the briefing in Brussels. “At the same time, we will continue to prepare further countermeasures so we are fully prepared.”
“We have always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution. This remains the case, and we will use the time that we have now till the 1st of August (to negotiate),” von der Leyen added.
In mid-April, the EU said it was suspending until July 14 its planned countermeasures on €21 billion ($25 billion) worth of US exports, unveiled earlier in retaliation for the 25% tariff Washington slapped on all steel and aluminium imports.
The bloc has also been preparing additional countermeasures in response to further tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump. On Sunday, von der Leyen said the 27-nation bloc had “developed a second potential list of countermeasures” and has sought to diversify its trade relationships, citing a “big and important” free trade deal with Indonesia.
According to the US Trade Representative’s office, EU member countries are together America’s largest trading partner at nearly $976 billion in two-way goods traded in 2024.
Von der Leyen noted that the EU prefers to negotiate a trade solution with the United States.
“Few economies in the world match the European Union’s level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices,” she said on Saturday.
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