European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday breathed a sigh of reduction over U.S. President Donald Trump’s determination to pause his “reciprocal” tariffs for 90 days.
“I welcome President Trump’s announcement to pause reciprocal tariffs. It’s an necessary step in direction of stabilizing the worldwide economic system,” von der Leyen mentioned.
“The European Union stays dedicated to constructive negotiations with america, with the purpose of attaining frictionless and mutually useful commerce,” she added.
Trump abruptly reversed course Wednesday, saying a 90-day pause of the extreme tariffs he had imposed on international locations all over the world only a week earlier.
“I feel that individuals had been leaping slightly bit,” he mentioned, acknowledging that market instability performed a task in his determination to retreat. “They had been getting slightly bit yippy, slightly bit afraid,” he added.
Whereas pausing his broader tariff initiative — although sustaining a ten % “reciprocal” tariff on nearly all international locations, plus drastic measures focusing on metals — Trump ratcheted up tariffs in opposition to China to 125 %. That transfer, he posted on social media, was primarily based “on the shortage of respect that China has proven to the World’s Markets.” Beijing had retaliated in opposition to Trump, implementing its personal large tariffs on American imports.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, German Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez additionally exhaled over Trump’s climbdown.
“Let’s make the perfect of the following 90 days,” Tusk mentioned Wednesday. In keeping with Merz, the brand new measures introduced by the U.S. confirmed the advantages of European unity, whereas Sánchez mentioned it “appears to open the door to negotiation and thus to an settlement between international locations.”