EU suspends retaliatory tariffs on US goods worth US$107 billion, keeps reinstatement option
The move follows a deal with the Trump administration that will see EU exports face a 15 per cent tariff
The EU announced the suspension on Tuesday of its retaliatory tariffs on US goods worth 93 billion euros (US$107 billion) after Brussels struck a deal with Washington last month.
“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 said.
The European Commission, in charge of trade policy for the 27-country bloc, had prepared a list of US goods to target if talks with the United States failed to end in a deal.
The EU’s countermeasures were set to target a raft of US exports, ranging from soybeans to planes, cars and whisky.
But commission president Ursula von der Leyen clinched a framework accord with President Donald Trump on July 27, as an August 1 deadline loomed for steep levies.
Following the deal, EU exports are now set to face across-the-board tariffs from August 8 of 15 percent -- higher than customs duties before Trump returned to the White House, but much lower than his threatened 30 percent.