European Union to delay retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in hopes of reaching deal

Source: CBS News/AP

July 13, 2025 / 12:48 PM EDT


The European Union will suspend retaliatory tariffs on goods from the United States that were scheduled to take effect on Monday. The EU hopes it can reach a trade deal with the Trump administration by the end of the month. "This is now the time for negotiations," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday.

A day earlier, President Trump sent a letter to the EU announcing new 30% tariffs on goods starting Aug. 1. In the letter, Mr. Trump said the relationship between the bloc and the U.S. has been "far from Reciprocal," and that the U.S. trade deficit was a national security threat.

"We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers," he wrote. Mr. Trump sent a similar letter to Mexico.

The EU – the United States' biggest trading partner and the world's largest trading bloc – had been scheduled to impose "countermeasures" starting Monday at midnight Brussels time (6 p.m. EST). The EU negotiates trade deals on behalf of its 27 member countries.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/european-union-delay-retaliatory-tariffs-us-goods-reaching-deal/