The European Commission wants to take advantage of the 90-day truce announced by US President Donald Trump (see EUROPE 13618/1) to negotiate even more actively an alternative solution to tariffs. To this end, and as a sign of goodwill, the EU decided on Thursday 10 April to suspend for 90 days the tariffs that the Member States had just approved. These countermeasures, which were due to start being applied on 15 April, are in response to the US tariffs on steel and aluminium, which are being maintained.
“If the 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”, declared the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Thursday 10 April.
During this 90-day pause, European products exported to the United States will be taxed at 10%, the default basic tariff announced by the US administration on 2 April. The specific US duties on steel and aluminium (15%) and those on motor vehicles (25%) remain.
The 10% floor rate should not be lowered, according to the White House's chief economic adviser, Kevin Hassett. “It would take an exceptional agreement for the President to want to go lower”, he told CNBC on 10 April.
The European Commission's ambition remains to negotiate a reduction, or even a total and reciprocal abolition, of tariffs in certain sectors. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)