BRUSSELS: The European Union on Tuesday announced the suspension of its retaliatory tariffs on US goods worth 93 billion euros ($107 billion) after Brussels struck a deal with Washington last month.
“The commission has today adopted the necessary legal procedures to suspend the implementation of our EU countermeasures, which were due to kick in on August 7,” EU trade spokesman Olof Gill said.
The European Commission, in charge of trade policy for the 27-country bloc, had prepared a list of US goods to target if talks with the United States failed to end in a deal, AFP reported.
The EU’s countermeasures were set to target a raft of US exports ranging from soybeans to planes, cars and whisky.
But Commission President Ursula von der Leyen clinched a framework accord with President Donald Trump on July 27 as an August 1 deadline loomed for steep levies.
Following the deal, EU exports are now set to face across-the-board tariffs from August 8 of 15 percent — higher than customs duties before Trump returned to the White House, but much lower than his threatened 30 percent.
A senior EU official said both sides were fleshing out the leaders’ agreement and hoped to provide more details “very, very soon”.
“We put it back into the freezer and we can always take it out if needed, so we can always unsuspend the suspension,” the senior EU official said, quoted by AFP.
On Monday, the EU Commission spokesperson for trade touted the agreement as restoring “stability and predictability for citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”
“The EU continues to work with the US to finalise a Joint Statement, as agreed on 27 July,” the spokesperson said.
“With these objectives in mind, the Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend by 6 months the EU’s countermeasures against the US, which were due to enter into force on 7 August.”
Trump last month announced a trade deal with the EU that included 15 percent tariffs on most European goods to the US, including automobiles.
As part of the deal, the White House said the EU “will remove significant tariffs, including the elimination of all EU tariffs on US industrial goods exported to the EU.”
Trump also said that the 27-member bloc agreed to buy $750 billion worth of US energy and invest an additional $600 billion into the US above current levels.
