The European Union announced Monday it was pausing a plan to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods as it continued trade negotiations with the Trump administration.
In a statement, the European Commission spokesperson for trade said the planned countermeasures against the U.S., which were set to take effect Thursday, would now be suspended for six months.
The announcement helped propel stocks higher Monday, with major indexes all gaining about 1%.
On July 27, Trump announced an agreement with the E.U. — America’s largest trading partner — that included a baseline tariff of 15%, down from a threatened 30%, and a pledge by the bloc to buy $750 billion of U.S. energy products and invest an additional $600 billion in unspecified U.S. projects.
In return, Trump said, the E.U. promised to remove tariffs on U.S. industrial goods.
The commission trade spokesperson said Monday it was still working on finalizing a joint statement with the Trump administration.
There has been no letup in Trump’s aggressive trade posture. The president also announced Monday he would ratchet up trade duties on India over allegations it was illicitly reselling Russian oil, something he said was helping fuel Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
The other new measures Trump announced last week, including a 15% tariff rate on some four dozen countries with which the U.S. currently has a trade deficit, are set to take effect Thursday.
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