The European Union will use the time it has until an August 1st deadline to push for a tariff deal with the United States, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said.

The head of the EU’s powerful executive arm was speaking after US president Donald Trump announced he would levy tariffs of 30 per cent on nearly all trade coming from the EU from the start of next month.

Speaking in Brussels on Sunday, Ms von der Leyen said commission negotiators would keep pushing for an EU-US deal that suspended those threatened higher tariffs rates.

“We have always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution. This remains the case and we will use the time that we have now till the first of August,” Ms von der Leyen said.

An initial set of EU counter-tariffs on €21 billion worth of US trade that had been due to kick in on Monday after a 90-day pause, will be kept on hold until early August, she said.

A second, larger set of retaliatory tariffs that would hit about €70 billion worth of US trade was also ready to go if needed, the commission president said.

“We have prepared for this and we can respond with counter-measures if necessary,” she said.

The use of the EU’s anti-coercion instrument, which would give the commission wide ranging powers to target US multinational companies, such as tech and social media firms, was reserved for an “extraordinary situation,” she said.

“We are not there yet,” the German politician said. “This is now the time for negotiations but this also shows we are prepared for all eventual scenarios.”

Mr Trump’s threat on Saturday to place a 30 per cent tariff on goods from the European Union caused outrage among European leaders, with some urging retaliatory tariffs while others said they hoped a deal could still be worked out before the new levies went into effect.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said said the Government has supported the European Union in its strategy of “de-escalation” and “not overreacting to every announcement that gets made”.

“Europe has counter measures ready but Europe prefers a negotiated approach to this. But nearly 30 per cent is not sustainable or tenable in any shape or form,” he said.

Tánaiste Simon Harris said he believes Mr Trump’s threat to impose 30 per cent tariffs is a “negotiating position.”

Mr Harris said that Mr Trump “recognises the need for a deal” and that his letter outlining his plan - published on his Truth Social website on Saturday - was “his way” of negotiating.

Speaking in Dublin on Sunday, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs said that while Mr Trump’s letter had been “escalatory,” it had not changed anything because the negotiation deadline remains August 1st.

The EU has been in deep negotiations with Washington in the hope of reaching trade deals that would avert such punishing levies and a wider trade war.

But Mr Trump’s threat to impose a 30 per cent levy on European and Mexican goods on August 1st upended months of deliberations.

The European Council president, António Costa, said on social media that the EU “remains firm, united and ready to protect our interests.”

President Emmanuel Macron of France suggested the 30 per cent rate came as a surprise after weeks of negotiations that he said were “made in good faith”. He voiced “very strong disapproval” of the tariffs in a social media post.

France has been one of the loudest voices in Europe calling for retaliatory tariffs against the US if a deal is not reached. Mr Macron reiterated a plea for the European Commission, which is negotiating on behalf of the EU countries, to mobilise “all the instruments at its disposal”.

Prime minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, one of the few European leaders Trump likes, struck a more cautious tone.

Her office said in a statement that it would make “no sense to spark a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic”, and urged negotiators to avoid “polarisations that would make reaching an agreement more complex”.

Mr Trump threatened to meet any EU tariff retaliation with an equal increase in US tariffs. Experts said that would increase the chances of a wider trade war between the United States and Europe.

The new tariffs also prolong the economic uncertainty weighing on various exporters, including German carmakers, Italian wine exporters and Irish pharmaceutical companies. - Additional reporting: New York Times

Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum noted in speeches that every country has been getting a letter from Mr Trump as he implements global protectionist policies. Her team had already begun discussions with the US on Friday and she was confident Mexico would get a deal.

“We’ve had some experience with these things for several months now,” Sheinbaum said at a clinic opening in Ensenada, Baja California. “And I think we’re going to reach an agreement with the United States government.” – This article originally appeared in The New York Times