Customs duties: EU suspends retaliatory measures after trade deal with the United States

Brussels announced on Tuesday, August 5, that it was suspending its retaliation against Donald Trump's tariffs, due to the trade agreement between the United States and the European Union (EU) . Over the past few months, the Commission had prepared a list of American products that would be taxed if the United States and the EU failed to reach an agreement. This list included €93 billion worth of goods: soybeans, airplanes, cars, etc.

"The Commission adopted [on Tuesday] the necessary legal procedure to suspend the implementation of our European countermeasures," said a spokesperson for the European executive, Olof Gill. The EU has not, however, ruled out reactivating these countermeasures if the trade standoff with the Trump administration takes new turns. "We are putting [these measures] back in the freezer but we can always bring them out again," explained a European official on condition of anonymity.

After months of fierce negotiations, Brussels and Washington sealed a trade agreement on July 27 in Turnberry, Scotland, based on 15% tariffs on European products arriving in the United States. The Republican president, engaged in a vast protectionist offensive, had given himself until August 1 before imposing tariffs on European products entering the United States.

The two economic powers have decided to mutually lift their customs duties "on a certain number of strategic products" , including aeronautical equipment, "certain chemical products, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products and critical raw materials" , the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had specified to the press in Scotland.

The details of the agreement still need to be worked out "in the coming weeks," according to the European leader. "15% is not insignificant, but it's the best we could achieve," Ursula von der Leyen had argued.