European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech after an emergency meeting of the European Council in Brussels on Thursday.NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP/Getty Images
The European Commission said on Friday it would propose suspending for another six months an EU package of retaliatory trade measures against the U.S. worth €93-billion (US$109.19-billion) that would otherwise kick in on Feb. 7.
The package, prepared in the first half of last year when the European Union was negotiating a trade deal with the United States, was put on hold for six months when Brussels and Washington agreed on a joint statement on trade in August, 2025.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat last week to impose new tariffs on eight European countries over Washington’s push to acquire Greenland had made the retaliatory package a handy tool for the EU to use had Trump followed through on his threat.
“With the removal of the tariff threat by the U.S. we can now return to the important business of implementing the joint EU-US statement,” Commission spokesman Olof Gill said.
Trump drops tariff threats against allies opposed to U.S. control of Greenland
The Commission will soon make a proposal “to roll over our suspended countermeasures, which are set to expire on Feb. 7,” Gill said, adding the measures would be suspended for a further six months.
“Just to make absolutely clear – the measures would remain suspended, but if we need them at any point in the future, they can be unsuspended,” Gill said.