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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU will also pause for 90 days its planned countermeasures against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, saying it "took note" of his temporary halt on Wednesday to give time for trade negotiations.
However, von der Leyen also warned that the EU's countermeasures will kick in and "all options remain on the table" if negotiations do not come to a resolution.
Why It Matters
The pause offers respite to businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic who were facing sharply higher costs. Stock markets surged on the news of Trump's pause after days of sharp losses as fears of a looming recession eased.
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What to Know
Trump on Wednesday said his "reciprocal" tariffs would be paused to allow for time to negotiate on trade with partners who had contacted the White House.
He was also under pressure from a bloodbath in the stock markets and a sharp rise in the cost of borrowing for the U.S. government.
A broad 10 percent baseline tariff remains in place, but the additional "reciprocal" rate, calculated to reflect what Trump sees as the unfairness to the U.S. in existing trading terms, was paused.
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In the EU's case, the combined total was 20 percent, which has now been halved temporarily.
Trump previously imposed separate tariffs of 25 percent on steel, aluminum, and auto imports, which remain in place.
The EU has agreed on Wednesday proposals to put tariffs on more than $20 billion of U.S. goods spanning a range of products from mid-April. These are now on hold. Officials have yet to publicly release the list of goods on the list.
What People Are Saying
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said in a statement posted to X on Thursday morning: "We took note of the announcement by President Trump. We want to give negotiations a chance.
"While finalising the adoption of the EU countermeasures that saw strong support from our Member States, we will put them on hold for 90 days."
But she warned: "If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in. Preparatory work on further countermeasures continues. As I have said before, all options remain on the table."
President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday why he had paused the tariffs: "I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line, they were getting yippy, you know. They were getting a little bit yippy. A little bit afraid...
"Somebody had to do what we did, and I did a 90-day pause for the people that didn't retaliate...A deal's going to be made with every one of them. And they'll be fair deals. I just want fair.
"They will be fair deals for everybody. But they weren't fair to the United States, they were sucking us dry, and you can't do that."
What's Next
Negotiations between U.S. trade representatives and their counterparts in Brussels are expected to continue in the coming weeks, as both sides seek to avoid a full-scale trade war while holding their strategic ground.
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