The European Union has decided to prolong a suspension of retaliatory duties on 93 billion euros of U.S. imports for another six months, according to a notice published in the EU official journal. The package covers a wide assortment of American products and follows a temporary easing of trade tensions linked to comments and threats concerning Greenland by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The measures under suspension had been prepared as potential countermeasures after Mr. Trump threatened tariffs over Greenland on a number of countries, including six members of the European Union. Those threats were later withdrawn and the U.S. President indicated that a deal on the Arctic island was possible, prompting the EU to hold off on implementing the tariff package.
The 93 billion euro package targets a diverse set of U.S. goods - explicitly cited in the filing are items "from corn to dishwashers and motorcycles" - and was ready before the EU and the United States reached a trade arrangement at the end of July. At that time the measures were suspended for an initial six-month period that was set to expire on Saturday.
Under the newly published decision, the suspension will be in force from February 7 until and including August 6. The European Commission said it will continue to monitor developments in trade relations with the United States and may act further depending on how those relations evolve.
The decision and the scope of the suspended package are recorded in the commission's filing and include the conversion rate used in the public notice: $1 equals 0.8471 euros.
For affected sectors, the filing underlines uncertainty over whether the suspension will remain in place beyond the extended window, as the commission retains the option to reassess and take subsequent action should U.S.-EU trade relations change.
Note on scope - The information in this report is taken from the European Commission filing published in the EU official journal and reflects the details provided there.