EU will delay planned U.S. tariffs for six months to allow for trade talks

The European Union announced Monday that it will suspend for six months its planned countermeasures against the United States’ tariffs, which which were set to take effect this week.

“On 27 July 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald J. Trump agreed a deal on tariffs and trade,” the EU Commission spokesperson for trade said in a statement.

The spokesperson touted the agreement as restoring “stability and predictability for citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”

“The EU continues to work with the US to finalise a Joint Statement, as agreed on 27 July,” the spokesperson said.

“With these objectives in mind, the Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend by 6 months the EU’s countermeasures against the US, which were due to enter into force on 7 August.”

The pause on the countermeasures is expected to formally take effect Tuesday.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the European Union announcement.

The delay represents a concession from one of the United States’ largest trading partners, following weeks of negotiations between Trump and von der Leyen.

Trump last month announced a trade deal with the EU that included 15% tariffs on most European goods to the U.S., including automobiles.

As part of the deal, the White House said that the EU “will remove significant tariffs, including the elimination of all EU tariffs on U.S. industrial goods exported to the EU.”

Trump also said that the 27-member bloc agreed to buy $750 billion worth of U.S. energy and invest an additional $600 billion worth of investments into the U.S. above current levels.

But it’s not clear who, exactly, would make those investments, or how. The economic bloc does not have the authority to force private companies to buy U.S. oil or American grain.

An EU statement on the July deal also stressed that it was a political agreement, and “not legally binding.”

“Beyond taking the immediate actions committed, the EU and the US will further negotiate, in line with their relevant internal procedures, to fully implement the political agreement,” the statement said.

The announcement comes at the start of another big week for Trump’s trade agenda.

After weeks of shifting deadlines, Trump last week again pushed back the start date for new tariff rates to take effect.

Tariffs on more than 60 countries are set to begin being collected on some shipments Aug. 7, after Trump pushed the date of implementation back from Aug. 1.