The European Union (EU) announced on Sunday that it will extend the suspension of its trade countermeasures against the United States until 1 August 2025.<\/p>\n
The decision comes as the bloc seeks to continue negotiations with the US as President Donald Trump threatened to impose a new 30 per cent tariff rate on EU goods, Bloomberg reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How is the EU preparing to tackle the new threat?<\/strong><\/p>\n These countermeasures, initially adopted by the bloc in response to tariffs imposed by Trump on steel and aluminum<\/a>, had been paused to allow for talks and are due to snap back automatically at midnight on Tuesday, said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.<\/p>\n The chief also said that meanwhile, the EU would continue to prepare further countermeasures, ensuring the bloc is \u201cfully prepared,\u201d in case the negotiations falter.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s renewed tariff threat<\/strong><\/p>\n The extension comes after Trump, in a letter published on Saturday, warned the EU of a 30 per cent tariff rate next month if better terms can\u2019t be negotiated.<\/p>\n Trump has been sending out letters to trading partners, tweaking his proposed tariff levels from April and inviting them to further talks.<\/p>\n This latest move by the US president has punctured recent optimism in Brussels over the prospects for an 11th-hour agreement between the major economies.<\/p>\n Economic impact of EU countermeasures<\/strong><\/p>\n The current list of countermeasures, which has been paused, targets around \u20ac21 billion ($24.5 billion) of US goods.<\/p>\n The EU also has a second list prepared which is valued around \u20ac72 billion, highlighting the potential economic impact if a trade resolution <\/a>is not reached.<\/p>\n The bloc\u2019s ambassadors are scheduled to meet on Sunday to discuss the trade situation.<\/p>\n Key sticking points between the US and EU<\/strong><\/p>\n Cars and tariff levels on agriculture have emerged as key sticking points between the EU and the US as the two sides work toward a provisional trade agreement in the coming days.<\/p>\n The EU is pushing for a tariff no higher than 10 per cent on agricultural exports.<\/p>\n