The European Union will put retaliatory tariffs on the United States on hold following President Donald Trump’s Wednesday announcement that he was pausing most tariffs on all countries except China.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday that the body would put a 90-day pause on its retaliatory actions in order for negotiations to take place. That is the same amount of time that Trump said he would pause most tariffs on all countries but China to work out trade deals that are more favorable to the United States.
In a statement posted on X, von der Leyen said that European retaliatory tariffs could still take effect if negotiations fell through.
“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,” she said. “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.”
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.
If negotiations are not satisfactory, our…
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 10, 2025
The announcement comes after the European Union voted 26-1 to impose tariffs on more than $20 billion of U.S. goods. American products like soybeans, meat, iron, steel, textiles, tobacco, and ice cream were expected to be hit with tariffs of up to 25%, according to a copy of the retaliatory plan obtained by The Washington Post.
Earlier on Thursday, von der Leyen said she welcomed Trump’s decision to pause most tariffs, calling it an “important step towards stabilizing the global economy.”
She also said she would support a “zero-for-zero” tariff agreement with the United States.
“Tariffs are taxes that only hurt businesses and consumers. That’s why I’ve consistently advocated for a zero-for-zero tariff agreement between the European Union and the United States,” von der Leyen said. “The European Union remains committed to constructive negotiations with the United States, with the goal of achieving frictionless and mutually beneficial trade.”
At the same time Trump paused most reciprocal tariffs he hiked the tariff on Chinese goods to 125%. That came after Chinese officials announced an 84% tariff on American goods, which went into effect on Thursday.
Trump said Wednesday that he expected to make a deal with all countries, including China.
“A deal is going to be made with China,” he said. “A deal is going to be made with every one of them, and there will be fair deals. I just want fair.”
