EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Against U.S.

The European Union will delay the implementation of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods—previously set to take effect Monday—in hopes of reaching a trade agreement with the Trump administration by the end of July, Nicole Winfield reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Europe’s top exports to the U.S. include pharmaceuticals, automobiles, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits.

“This is now the time for negotiations,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday, following a letter from President Donald Trump announcing new tariffs of 30% on goods from the EU and Mexico starting August 1.

The EU, America’s largest trading partner and the world’s biggest trading bloc, had been poised to impose countermeasures starting Monday at midnight Brussels time (6 p.m. EDT; 22:00 GMT).

Those measures are now delayed until August 1. Trump’s letter, von der Leyen said, “shows that we have until the first of August” to finalize an agreement.

“We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution,” she added, but warned, “If we can’t reach a deal, we will continue to prepare countermeasures so we are fully prepared.”

Europe’s top exports to the U.S. include pharmaceuticals, automobiles, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will travel to Washington on Monday for talks with the U.S. administration and Congress. Ahead of his trip, Tajani told EU counterparts that Europe must “negotiate with one’s head held high.”