(VOVWORLD) -The European Union will suspend its two packages of countermeasures to US tariffs for six months following a deal with US President Donald Trump, a European Commission spokesperson said on Monday.
 European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, April 20, 2016. (Photo:REUTERS)
|
The retaliatory tariffs are in two parts: one in response to US steel and aluminum duties, and the other to Trump's baseline and car tariffs.
The spokesperson said in a statement that the EU continues to work with the US to finalize a Joint Statement, as agreed on July 27. With these objectives in mind, the Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend for 6 months the EU’s countermeasures against the US, which were due to begin on August 7.
The EU-US agreement leaves many questions open, including tariff rates on spirits. And Trump's executive order last week setting tariffs on most EU goods at 15% did not include carve-outs for cars and car parts. This rate is much higher than the 2.5% tariff that Central European countries — key car exporters — used to enjoy.