That even the EU is counted in when Donald Trump pauses the punitive tariffs against the countries that have not introduced retaliatory tariffs is confirmed by the White House to BBC.
This means that the EU, in addition to the already previously introduced new US tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars, will "only" be affected by the so-called base tariffs of 10 percent, which the American president announced last week against all countries in the world.
The tariff pause was announced on Wednesday and applies to all nations except China, against which the tariffs will instead be raised to 125 percent. Together with a previous tariff on fentanyl of 20 percent, this will total 145 percent, according to the White House for CNBC.
Pause for 90 days
EU chief von der Leyen is now repeating her openness to negotiate "with the goal of achieving frictionless and mutually beneficial trade".
"Tariffs are taxes that only harm businesses and consumers. Therefore, I have consistently advocated for a zero-tariff agreement between the EU and the US", she writes in a statement.
In addition, the EU's own countermeasures will be paused for as long as the American ones.
"We want to give negotiations a chance. While we are completing the implementation of the EU's countermeasures, which received strong support from our member states, we will put them on pause for 90 days", von der Leyen writes on X.
Dental floss and soy
The EU's paused tariffs are directed against over 1,600 different products – everything from dental floss and vegetables to motorcycles and soybeans.
Despite the pause, work continues to develop additional countermeasures.
"All alternatives are still on the table", von der Leyen writes.
