Duties, 6-month EU halt to countermeasures. “US now to implement other points of agreement”

Brussels – Another step in the path of trade “appeasement” between the European Union and the United States of America comes after the political agreement reached on 27 July in Scotland by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump. Tomorrow (5 August), the European executive will take steps to suspend counter-tariffs for six months, which, starting 7 August, would have hit 93 billion worth of goods from the US. 

The announcement was made today by EU executive spokesman Olof Gill, who pointed out that “the EU continues to work with the US to finalise a joint statement, as agreed on 27 July.” “With these objectives in mind, the Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend for six months the EU countermeasures against the US, which were due to come into force on 7 August.” 

“The Commission is scheduled to adopt the necessary measures tomorrow, 5 August, via urgent procedure,” Gill pointed out. Through its spokesman in charge of trade, the Berlaymont Palace reiterates that the political agreement reached “restores stability and predictability for citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.” Not only that: for the EU, the deal “ensures continued access for EU exports to the US market, preserves deeply integrated transatlantic value chains, effectively safeguards millions of jobs, and lays the foundation for continued strategic cooperation between the EU and the US.”

https://www.eunews.it/en/2025/07/28/tariffs-sefcovic-defends-von-der-leyens-agreement-with-the-us-discontent-among-the-twenty-seven/ 

For the Commission, the Executive Order issued on 31 July by Washington “confirms the first step in the implementation of the agreement, i.e. the introduction, as of 8 August, of a single and all-inclusive duty of 15 per cent on goods from the European Union.” Single and all-inclusive duty because, “unlike other US trading partners, it includes the current most-favoured-nation rates (MFN, averaging 4.8 per cent with the US), which means no cumulation beyond the 15 per cent limit.” 

So, for the avoidance of doubt, Brussels wants to do the math and notes that, “with this initiative, the EU gets an immediate reduction in duties compared to those announced by the US on 2 April, and a first important basis is laid for restoring clarity for EU companies exporting to the US.” However, in this context, the Commission notes one caveat: the fact that it is now up to Washington to implement the other points of the understanding. In addition to the single, all-inclusive 15 per cent tariff, “the other elements of the 27 July agreement must now be implemented by the US,” Gill further notes. These include “the commitment to reduce Section 232 duties on automobiles and automobile components imported from the EU to a maximum rate of 15 per cent, as well as the specific treatment agreed for certain strategic products, e.g., aircraft and aircraft components,” he concludes. 

An element that Brussels is keen to shore up as the US Executive Order addresses reciprocal duties—setting the single, all-inclusive rate at 15 per cent—but is silent on the other elements of the EU-US agreement: in particular on the commitment to reduce US Section 232 duties on cars and car parts to a maximum rate of 15 per cent and to provide for the agreed specific treatment of certain strategic products, e.g. aircraft and aircraft parts. 

So, the opposite of what the EU executive had explained in its press note last week, where it specified that under the 27 July agreement “the 15 per cent limit also applies to cars and their components, currently subject to a tariff rate of up to 25 per cent with an additional MFN (Most Favoured Nation) 2.5 per cent tariff, which guarantees an immediate tariff reduction” and that from “1 August 2025, US duties on EU aircraft and aircraft components, certain chemicals, certain generic medicines or natural resources will revert to pre-January levels.”