EC postpones countermeasures to US tariffs, seeks response in the interest of business and consumers
The postponement of the entry into force of the EU's countermeasures to US tariffs by two weeks is aimed at responding in an appropriate manner that reflects the interests of businesses and consumers in the Union, said the Commission's chief spokeswoman, Paula Pinho, today. In response to a question about what exactly the European Commission is waiting for to happen, when EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič "declared that the US is not committed to talking to the EU", Pinho explained that the Union's response to US tariffs includes two lists of measures, one of which was supposed to enter into force on April 1, and the second in the middle of the month.
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The idea is to delay the entry into force of the first list and apply it together with the second from mid-April, Pinho noted.
The EC spokesman for economic security, trade, financial services and customs, Olof Gill, added that the European Commission had only decided to "align the timeframes" of the two sets of countermeasures. According to him, this is done to gain additional time for consultations with member states, to achieve a balance between the interests of producers, exporters and consumers in the EU and to provide additional time for talks with the US administration.
"Our goal is to avoid harmful tariffs, which we believe are damaging to both sides of the Atlantic. With this recalibrated approach, we are strengthening our negotiating position with the United States and giving more time for those negotiations to take place," Gill said.
He added that if these negotiations do not lead to a maximally acceptable solution, the EU will approach an appropriate, robust and well-targeted response to the US measures, in order to minimize the potential negative impacts in the Union. Gill stressed that the EU has a ready response to all possible outcomes, even if the US introduces reciprocal tariffs on European measures, but that this is a completely separate issue from the countermeasures that the European Commission has already announced for April.
"We ask the US not to do this, because it is harmful to both sides," added Gill.
