The European Union (EU) announced on the 20th (local time) that it would postpone the first stage of retaliatory tariffs against the United States, which were set to take effect on the 1st of next month.
Maros Sefcovic, the EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, attended a trade committee meeting under the European Parliament held in Brussels, Belgium, and noted that instead of implementing the retaliatory tariffs in two stages, he would "watch the announcement of U.S. reciprocal tariffs on April 2." He added, "If we cannot find a solution with the United States by mid-April, we will implement the retaliatory tariffs immediately," indicating that both stages could be implemented simultaneously depending on the level of U.S. tariffs.
Earlier, the EU announced that following the activation of the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum by the U.S. on the 12th, it would impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods worth a total of 26 billion euros (about 41 trillion won) in two stages on the 1st and 13th of next month.
The EU's first stage tariff would impose an additional tariff of up to 50% on U.S. products worth 8 billion euros (about 13 trillion won), including American boats, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and bourbon whiskey. The second-stage retaliatory tariffs target Republican stronghold products worth a total of 18 billion euros (about 29 trillion won), with plans to finalize the targeted items through consultation among member countries by the 26th of this month.
U.S. President Donald Trump previously raised issues regarding the whiskey tariff included in the EU's first-stage measures, stating that he would impose a 200% tariff on all EU alcoholic beverages, including wine.
The decision by the EU Commission to postpone the first-stage implementation just ten days prior is interpreted as a reflection of concerns from member countries and related industries. Commissioner Sefcovic explained, "Postponing the first-stage implementation will secure time to discuss the target items for both stages with member countries and broaden the room for negotiations with the United States."