EU to keep US trade countermeasures on hold until August, says von der Leyen
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The EU will extend its suspension of countermeasures to U.S. tariffs until early August as it aims for a negotiated solution on trade with the United States, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his global trade war on Saturday and threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union from Aug. 1, separate from sector-specific duties, despite months of intense talks.
Announcing the extension of the halt on retaliatory measures, von der Leyen told reporters the bloc would "continue to prepare further countermeasures so we are fully prepared".
A first package of countermeasures to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium that would hit 21 billion euros ($24.6 billion) in U.S. goods was suspended in April for 90 days to allow time for negotiations.
The suspension had been due to expire on Monday.
A second package has been in the works since May and would target 72 billion euros of U.S. goods, but these measures have not yet been made public and the final list requires approval by member states.
Von der Leyen added that use of the EU's Anti-Coercion Instrument was not yet on the table.
"The (anti-coercion) instrument is created for extraordinary situations, we are not there yet," she said.
The instrument allows the bloc to retaliate against third countries that put economic pressure on EU members to change their policies.
Possible retaliatory steps could include restricting EU market access to goods and services, and other economic measures related to areas including foreign direct investment, financial markets and export controls.
($1 = 0.8555 euros)
(Reporting by Julia Payne and Charlotte Van Campenhout;Editing by Gareth Jones and Helen Popper)
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