EU retaliatory tariffs on imports from the US were supposed to go into effect tomorrow. Now the EU is postponing them until early August. The EU is counting on an agreement being reached by then – despite the 30 percent tariffs announced by Trump yesterday.

In the tariff dispute with the United States, the EU Commission will not implement its countermeasures on Monday as originally planned, but will postpone them until the beginning of August. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced this.

The EU will wait and see whether an agreement with the US is still possible, despite President Donald Trump's Saturday threat to increase tariffs to 30 percent on EU imports as of August 1. There is still hope for an agreement, said von der Leyen."The United States has sent us a letter with measures that would come into force if there is no negotiated solution, so we will also extend the suspension of our countermeasures until the beginning of August."

At the same time, she emphasized that the EU will not stand idly by. The Commission will prepare further countermeasures in the coming weeks"so that we are optimally prepared," von der Leyen explained.

Several states apparently in favor of further negotiations

A package of counter-tariffs totaling €21 billion against the US was supposed to go into effect on Monday, because the US had already raised several tariffs on EU products. However, according to information from the Reuters news agency, the German government and several other countries advocated foregoing this step for the time being in discussions over the weekend so as not to complicate negotiations with Washington.

Merz: Tariff war would hit German economy"right to the core"

Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that a continued EU-US tariff dispute would severely damage the German economy."If that were to happen, we could put large parts of our economic policy efforts on the back burner," Merz said in an ARD summer interview."Because that would overshadow everything and would hit the German export industry hard."

He is therefore very committed to finding a solution."This requires two things: unity within the European Union and reasonable lines of communication with the American president," Merz said. He spoke with the US president on Friday and with French President Emmanuel Macron and the EU Commission president over the weekend.

Klingbeil:"We won't go along with everything"

Even before the decision from Brussels, Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that serious and targeted negotiations between the EU and the US were needed."Our hand remains outstretched, but we will not go along with everything," said the Vice Chancellor and SPD leader. If a"fair negotiated solution" fails, the EU must"take decisive countermeasures to protect jobs and companies in Europe."

Klingbeil regretted the tariff announcement from the White House."Trump's tariffs have only losers," he said."They threaten the American economy at least as much as they do companies in Europe."

Left Party leader calls for new European strategy

The chairwoman of the Left Party, Ines Schwerdtner, also criticized Trump's tariff plans. In Der Spiegel, she demanded that Europe protect itself through a strong, social, and ecological economy to avoid repeatedly falling into the stranglehold of an unpredictable US president:"We must no longer allow ourselves to be blackmailed."

Schwerdtner urged Europe to keep a "cool head": "Instead of panicking, we should use this new situation strategically – for an independent, bold foreign trade policy. It is high time to become economically independent of the US." The EU must strengthen its domestic demand,"socially and ecologically restructure" industry, and thus create well-paid, future-proof jobs. What is needed now are major investments – in climate-neutral production, in social infrastructure, and in a crisis-proof, fair economy," said Schwerdtner.