The European Commission will suspend on Tuesday for six months, the tariff countermeasures it prepared for the United States if it had not reached an agreement with the country to avoid a trade war, something it achieved on July 27.
“The commission will take the necessary measures to suspend the EU countermeasures against the US, which should come into force on August 7,” Community Community spokesman Olof Gill told the press, which detailed that the European Commission adopts the necessary measures for the urgent procedure.
Specifically, the EU had kept an arsenal of retaliation countermeasures approved by most countries, evaluated at 93 million euros, which should be staggered by August 7, if it did not agree.
European Commission Chairman Von Der Leyen, and US President Donald Trump closed on July 27 in Scotland, a political agreement to avoid a trade war and the threat of imposition by Washington from a 30% general rate on community imports.
The pact establishes a single tariff ceiling of 15% and “zero fare” in various products, as well as European strategic purchases valued at $ 750 billion in gas, oil, nuclear energy or artificial intelligence chips; investments in the US $ 600 billion economy and an increase in US military material acquisitions.
Since then, EU and US negotiators have been working in a statement with more details on how they will apply the agreement that, according to the spokesman, is in the finalization phase.
“This political agreement restores stability and predictability for citizens and companies on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said.
Gill also stated that the agreement guarantees continuous access of EU exports to the US market, preserves profoundly integrated transatlantic value chains, safeguards millions of jobs and establishes the foundations for continuous strategic cooperation between the European and the US bloc.
According to him, the executive order issued by Trump on July 31 to introduce the 15% rate on EU imports from August 8 was “the first step in applying the agreement”.
“Unlike other US business partners, this 15% customs rate includes existing rates of the most favored nation (NMF), which means there is no accumulation above the maximum limit of 15%,” he said.
Gill pointed out that, with the measure, the EU “obtains an immediate tariff reduction compared to US -announced tariffs on April 2” and “establishes an important first basis for returning clarity to EU companies that export to the US.” He recalled, in any case, that “the other elements of the July 27 agreement should now be applied by the US.”
The spokesman has specifically referred to the US commitment to reduce section charges 232 on EU imported cars and car parts for a maximum rate of 15%, as well as the “specific treatment” agreed for certain strategic products (such as airplanes and airplanes).
