Published: 10:44, August 5, 2025
EU to suspend US tariff countermeasures for 6 months
By Reuters
Flags of the European Union flutter outside The Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (PHOTO / AFP)

BRUSSELS - The European Union will suspend its two packages of countermeasures to US tariffs for six months following a deal with US President Donald Trump, a Commission spokesperson said on Monday.

The EU-US agreement leaves many questions open, including tariff rates on spirits, and Trump's executive order last week setting tariffs on most EU goods at 15 percent did not include carve-outs such as for cars and car parts.

EU officials have said they expect more executive orders to follow soon.

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"The EU continues to work with the US to finalize a Joint Statement, as agreed on 27 July," the spokesperson said in a statement.

"With these objectives in mind, the Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend by 6 months the EU’s countermeasures against the US, which were due to enter into force on 7 August."

The retaliatory tariffs are in two parts: one in response to US steel and aluminium duties, and the other to Trump's baseline and car tariffs.