The European Union is preparing a swath of new countermeasures to U.S. tariffs ahead of an Aug. 1 negotiating deadline.
On Thursday, the European Commission approved regulation that would install levies of up to 30% on numerous U.S. goods, with several duties slated to start Aug. 7.
The new countermeasures would replace previous retaliatory tariffs the EU planned to enact in response to U.S. duties, including those on steel, aluminum, cars, auto parts and trucks. The bloc has twice delayed implementation as it seeks to negotiate a deal with the Trump administration.
“We have always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this month. “This remains the case and we will use the time that we have now till the 1st of August.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has unveiled a wide range of new tariffs since returning to the Oval Office in January. The linchpin of negotiations with the EU and other trading partners are the country-specific reciprocal levies he announced on April 2. Those tariffs have been on pause since April 9, but are slated to go back into effect Aug. 1.
In the interim, the U.S. has adjusted the rates it plans to install on imports of each country, with the EU facing a potential 30% tariff starting Aug. 1, according to a letter Trump shared earlier this month. The bloc was originally tagged with a 20% duty rate in Trump’s April announcement.
Ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline, the Trump administration said it has reached deals and deal frameworks with several trading partners to lower country-specific duties, including Japan, Indonesia and the UK, while other negotiations are ongoing.
