The European Union will delay its first round of countermeasures to U.S. tariffs until mid-April, Olof Gill, a European Commission spokesperson, confirmed in an email to Supply Chain Dive.
In response to the U.S.’ 25% duties on steel and aluminum imports, the EU originally planned to lift a suspension on previously installed retaliatory tariffs on April 1. The EU also said it would install “a package of new countermeasures” by mid-April.
The commission's latest decision will align the timing of both actions.
“By aligning the timelines, the Commission consults with Member States on both lists simultaneously,” Gill said. “This provides additional time for discussions with the US administration.”
On March 31, the comission implemented the tariff delay through a notice in its official journal, saying the duties would not take effect until April 15. EU member countries have since voted in favor of the commission’s proposal to begin rolling out countermeasures on that date. The vote came after the Trump administration unveiled a 20% tariff hike on the EU as part of its reciprocal tariff policy.
The delayed retaliatory tariffs from the EU would impact goods like bourbon and motorbikes and cover up to 26 billion euros’ worth of U.S. exports. The scope of the duties is expected to match the $28 billion economic impact of the U.S.’ duties, per a March 11 press release from the commission.
Pushing back the lifting of the tariffs will not “diminish the impact of our response,” per Gill.
“Our goal is to strike the right balance of products, taking into account the interests of EU producers, exporters and consumers,” Gill said.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to place 200% tariffs on alcohol goods from France and other European countries, including wine and champagne, if the EU didn’t rescind its countermeasures.
Editor's note: This story was updated to include the official notice implementing the tariff delay and the confirmation of member country approval.
