EU suspends retaliatory tariffs on US goods after trade deal with Washington

The European Union has officially suspended its planned retaliatory tariffs on US imports worth €93 billion ($107 billion) following a breakthrough agreement with the United States, EU officials announced on August 5.

“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 confirmed, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

The European Commission had previously drawn up a list of US products — including soybeans, airplanes, cars, and whisky — that would be targeted if trade talks failed. The tariffs were part of the EU’s contingency plan in case negotiations with the US did not yield results.

However, tensions eased after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump reached a framework accord on July 27, just days before the EU's August 1 deadline to enact punitive measures.

As part of the deal, EU exports to the US will now be subject to a 15 per cent tariff starting August 8 — a rate higher than before Trump's return to the White House, but still significantly below the previously threatened 30 per cent.

A senior EU official noted that both sides are currently working out the details of the agreement.

“We put it back into the freezer, and we can always take it out if needed, so we can always unsuspend the suspension,” the official said. The EU hopes to finalise the technical aspects of the deal “very, very soon,” they added.

By Sabina Mammadli