EU’s Retaliatory Tariffs on US Delayed Again

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the EU’s retaliatory tariffs on US exports have been delayed again.

The countermeasures, which were due to start on Tuesday, came in response to US President Donald Trump’s initial import taxes on steel and aluminium.

The EU’s retaliation, which would have hit €21-billion worth of US goods, was first suspended in March.

Von der Leyen told a press conference on Sunday that this break has been extended until early August.

EU trade ministers are expected to meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss how to respond.

It comes after Trump wrote a letter to von der Leyen announcing his plans to impose 30 per cent tariffs on EU imports from August 1.

He warned that if the trade partner retaliated with import duties of their own against the US, he would hit back by raising tariffs above 30 per cent.

In a pre-recorded interview with Fox News which aired on Saturday night, Trump said some countries were very upset now but he insisted the tariffs meant hundreds of billions of dollars were pouring in to the US.