Tariff pause welcomed

THE European Union’s executive commission has said it will put its retaliation measures against new United States tariffs on hold for 90 days to match President Donald Trump's pause on his sweeping new tariffs and leave room for a negotiated solution.

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European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the commission, which handles trade for the 27 member countries, “took note of the announcement by President Trump”.

New tariffs on 20.9 billion euros (£17.9 billion) of US goods will be put on hold for 90 days because “we want to give negotiations a chance,” she said in a statement.

But Ms von der Leyen warned: “If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in.”