| | APRIL 20258IN FOCUSUS President Donald Trump's decision to halt planned tariff rises were hailed by EU leader Ursula von der Leyen as a "significant step towards stabilizing the global economy."Von der Leyen emphasized Europe's continuous attempts to broaden its international trade alliances by interacting with nations that make up 87 percent of the world's trade."Tariffs are taxes that only hurt businesses and consumers," she said, stressing her long-standing advocacy for a "zero-for-zero tariff" deal between the EU and the US."The EU remains committed to constructive negotiations with the US, with the goal of achieving frictionless and mutually beneficial trade," she said.She emphasized that these collaborations are in line with the EU's commitment to free and open trade in products, services, and ideas.Although Brussels has stated that it would want to avoid retaliation, the commission has been preparing its response to the 20 percent rate that Trump's sweeping tariffs impact the EU.Trump's announcement of the punitive tariffs last week sent the world markets into a tailspin until he declared on Wednesday that he would suspend the penalties for nearly all countries for ninety days.Currently, dozens of nations, including Japan but not China, are subject to a baseline tariff rate of 10 percent, including the 27-nation EU.Additionally, the EU is still vulnerable to the US tariffs that were previously implemented on the car industry, steel, and aluminum, to which it responded on Wednesday. EU CHIEF HAILS PAUSE ON US TARIFFS AS KEY STEP FOR GLOBAL STABILITY
< Page 7 | Page 9 >