The European Union will postpone until mid-April the introduction of customs countermeasures against the United States, which were announced on March 12, European Commission spokesman Olof Gill announced today.

The decision is a response to the 25 percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on steel and aluminum, Le Figaro reported.

Gill explained that this would allow more time for negotiations with the US administration. On the same day that the US steel and aluminium tariffs took effect, the European Union announced proportional tariffs in early April on a range of products imported from the US, such as boats, motorcycles and bourbon, worth 4,5 billion euros.

Trump's tariffs have prompted the European Commission to propose reimposing tariffs on US products starting April 1, as well as to impose another set of tariffs worth 18 billion euros from April 13, Reuters reports.

As European Trade Commissioner Maros Šefčovič previously stated, the European Union is considering "harmonizing two sets of countermeasures", which would provide additional time for consultations with member states and negotiations with the United States, published by Politics.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned European Union partners on Tuesday of a possible escalation in the trade dispute with the government in Washington. French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on Sunday that the European Union "probably made a mistake" when it proposed imposing tariffs on American whiskey, Tanjug reports.