“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.”
The shift came after Trump cut the 20 percent tariff he had placed on the EU on April 2 down to 10 percent — the same rate he’s applied to most countries. At the same time, he raised tariffs on China to 125 percent.
EU ambassadors met Thursday morning to discuss the pause just one day after member states gave strong approval for tariffs on $23 billion in US goods like farm products, industrial materials, cigarettes, ice cream, and yachts, reports Politico.
Though the tariffs are still set to begin next week, the EU will use a separate legal step to delay them in order to allow more time for negotiations with the US, according to four diplomats familiar with the talks.
Von der Leyen also made it clear the EU hasn’t backed down entirely: “If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in. Preparatory work on further countermeasures continues. As I have said before, all options remain on the table.”
Trump’s decision helped ease concerns in the financial world. Stocks surged, and US Treasury bond markets calmed down after recent turbulence.
In a response Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said: “The US uses tariff as a weapon to exert maximum pressure for its own selfish gains, which severely hurts the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, violates the WTO rules, sabotages the rules-based multilateral trading regime, and destabilizes the global economic order.”
Markets were still reacting to the news. European stock markets rose sharply Thursday, catching up to the jump in US markets late Wednesday. But US premarket trading stayed flat as concerns about the unresolved trade conflict with China lingered.
Currency markets also saw movement, with investors pulling money out of the US dollar. The euro, yen, and Swiss franc all climbed, and gold futures hit a new high after rising nearly 2 percent.
