As noted in the European Commission, the EU officially suspended the imposition of retaliatory trade duties against the United States after the deal between Washington and Brussels on July 27. At the same time, it was emphasized that the European Commission had taken “necessary legal measures”: if the negotiations had failed, the tariffs would have come into force on August 7.
It was planned, in particular, to impose surcharges on American goods totaling 93 billion euros, including – on soybeans, airplanes and cars. “We freeze these measures, but we can always reactivate them again,” EU officials noted.
Note that U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on July 27 that a trade deal between the EU and the United States had been reached. According to Trump, Washington will keep customs duties on goods from the European Union at 15% in all sectors, except for steel and aluminum supplies – they will be subject to a rate of 50%. In addition, von der Leyen on behalf of the EU promised additional investments in the US economy in the amount of 600 billion dollars (510 billion euros).
As part of the trade agreement, Brussels will also purchase $750 billion (€638 billion) worth of energy from the US, Donald Trump said. Ursula von der Leyen also confirmed this at a separate briefing for journalists. “We will replace Russian gas and oil with significant purchases of liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear fuel from the United States,” the EC chief said.
Brussels is now working to approve a list of key goods that will be exempt from US tariffs.
