The European Commission declared on January 23 that it proposes to maintain the suspension of a substantial EU retaliatory trade package targeting the United States for an additional six months. This package, worth 93 billion euros (equivalent to $109.19 billion), was initially prepared during the first half of the previous year amid ongoing EU-US trade negotiations.
Originally, the EU intended for these countermeasures to take effect on February 7, but they were placed on hold after Brussels and Washington jointly agreed in August 2025 to pause retaliation measures for six months. This strategic pause coincided with a period of cooperative dialogue between the two sides.
The recent threat by then US President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on eight European nations in response to US efforts to acquire Greenland had appeared to activate the potential relevance of this EU package. However, with the withdrawal of these US tariff threats, the European Commission found no immediate need to enact its retaliatory measures.
Commission spokesman Olof Gill emphasized the return to collaborative implementation of the joint EU-US trade statement following the de-escalation of tensions. Gill stated that the Commission is preparing to officially propose extending the suspension past the February 7 expiry date, thus continuing the hold on these countermeasures for another six months.
He clarified that while the measures remain suspended, the EU retains the option to reactivate them should future circumstances warrant such action, preserving the tools as leverage if necessary.
The ongoing suspension of these measures plays a significant role in transatlantic trade relations. It impacts sectors dependent on US-EU trade flows, including industrial goods and agricultural products, which could be affected if tariffs were reinstated.