The European Union will extend the suspension of countermeasures against US tariffs until early August, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, Reuters reported. The EU’s main goal is to agree on a trade deal with the United States during negotiations, but the bloc will continue to prepare further countermeasures against the 30% US tariffs announced the day before in order to be “fully armed,” she explained
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union will extend the suspension of countermeasures against US tariffs until early August, as the bloc intends to resolve the trade issue during negotiations with the United States, Reuters reports. At the same time, von der Leyen noted that the EU will continue to prepare further countermeasures in order to be “fully armed.”
Ursula von der Leyen also added that the issue of using the EU Anti-Coercion Instrument has not yet been raised. “The instrument was developed for extraordinary situations, we are not in such a situation yet,” she explained.
The agency added that the Anti-Coercion Instrument allows the EU to take retaliatory measures against third countries that exert economic pressure on union members to change their policies. Possible retaliatory measures within its framework may include restrictions on access of goods and services to the European market and other economic measures related to foreign direct investment, financial markets and export controls.
