European Union delays retaliatory levies after Trump paused reciprocal tariffs

The European Union will hold off on imposing retaliatory tariffs on US goods for 90 days, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced on Thursday (April 10), in a move aimed at salvaging trade talks with Washington following Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to delay sweeping duties on EU exports.

Von der Leyen said the bloc would pause its countermeasures “to give negotiations a chance”, while warning that the EU stood ready to respond if talks failed to deliver a fair outcome.

The 27-member bloc had approved retaliatory tariffs on over €20 billion worth of American products on Wednesday — including soybeans, motorcycles, and cosmetics — following US duties on European steel and aluminium. However, a broader response to Trump’s planned “universal tariffs”, including those on the automotive sector, remains in the works.

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“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 European Commission president said in a statement.

Fragile pause in a widening trade row

Trump’s shock move to delay a raft of new tariffs by three months— including a 20 per cent blanket duty that would have hit European exports hard— has done little to ease transatlantic tensions, but Brussels appears eager to prevent an immediate escalation.

In an earlier statement, von der Leyen welcomed the delay as “an important step towards stabilising the global economy,” adding that the EU “remains committed to constructive negotiations with the United States.”

Nonetheless, the Commission president made clear that preparatory work on further countermeasures would continue. “All options remain on the table,” she said, signalling that Brussels would not shy away from a response should the US revert to a more aggressive trade stance.

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Offer of compromise, but no retreat

The European Commission has floated a possible bilateral exemption deal with Washington — one that would remove tariffs on cars and other industrial goods on both sides.

But there is little indication yet that the US is prepared to take up the offer, especially with Trump’s campaign increasingly leaning into economic nationalism ahead of the 2024 election.

With inputs from agencies