US tariff pause will help stabilize the global economy – European Commission

The US President’s decision to suspend reciprocal duties was an important step towards stabilizing the global economy. This is stated in a statement by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

“Tariffs are taxes that only harm business and consumers. That is why I have consistently advocated for a zero-zero tariff agreement between the European Union and the United States,” she said.

Von der Leyen said that the bloc remains committed to constructive negotiations with the United States to achieve “unimpeded and mutually beneficial trade.”

At the same time, Europe continues to focus on diversifying its trade partnerships and is stepping up efforts to remove barriers in its single market.

On April 9, US President Donald Trump announced a complete pause for 90 days on all “reciprocal” duties for trading partners, except for China, CNN reported.

For China, the world’s second-largest economy, duties will increase to 125% from 104% – as Trump noted on social media, due to “the lack of respect that China has shown for global markets.” For all other countries that have announced reciprocal tariffs, the rates will be reduced to a total of 10%.

Trump explained on his Truth Social network that he decided to pause after more than 75 countries entered into negotiations and did not retaliate against the United States. In a conversation with journalists, he said that China wants to make a deal, it just doesn’t know how to do it.

For Canada and Mexico, the White House spokesman said, the 0% duty will continue to apply to goods that meet the requirements of the USMCA (a trade agreement between the three countries), and 25% to those that do not. However, this does not apply to the sectoral tariffs imposed by Trump.

Earlier, China raised duties on American goods from 34% to 84%. The Ministry of Commerce also announced that China is filing a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization in connection with the increase in tariffs by the United States (at that time – up to 104%).

On April 9, the majority of EU member states approved the European Commission’s proposal to introduce trade countermeasures against the United States in response to the US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. They can be suspended at any time if the US agrees to a fair and balanced outcome of the negotiations. The retaliatory duties apply to about €21 billion ($23.2 billion) worth of US goods.