BRUSSELS — Hard-hitting penalties on American exports to to the EU won’t come into force next week as planned, and instead will only be imposed if U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on his threat to apply a 30 percent tariff on the bloc.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said negotiations with Washington were underway after the White House confirmed it would hike tariffs on imports from the EU starting Aug. 1.
“We will therefore also extend the suspension of our countermeasures till early August and at the same time we will continue to prepare further countermeasures so we are always prepared,” she said.
“We have as you know a two-track approach. We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution. This remains the case,” von der Leyen said.
The countermeasures — which could affect €21 billion of U.S. products like soybeans, motorcycles and orange juice — were due to take effect from 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. Their suspension comes after the bloc vowed it would respond following Trump’s announcement Saturday.
Asked whether the EU could consider deploying its Anti-Coercion Instrument — or “trade bazooka” — to hit American banks and businesses in response, von der Leyen said the measures “were created for extraordinary situations — we are not there yet. This is very important. This is now the time for negotiations. But this also shows we are prepared for all eventual scenarios,” she said.
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