By Edith Hancock

The European Union welcomes the decision of the U.S. and China to pair back their tariff war while the two countries negotiate a deal, a European Commission spokesperson said.

"We do welcome the fact that the U.S. and China have announced that to some extent at least, they will roll back the imposition of tariffs for 90 days," Olof Gill, a spokesperson for the Commission, said on Monday.

Both the U.S. and China said on Monday they agreed to suspend most tariffs on each other's goods while talks are ongoing. The U.S. said it would lower its so-called reciprocal tariff rate on imports from China to 10%--down from an earlier 125%--although a 20% tariff tied to the fentanyl crisis remains in place. China said it would also bring its U.S. tariff rate down from 125% to 10%. Both countries also agreed to establish "a mechanism to continue important discussions about trade and economics," according to a White House statement.

"We've been very clear and consistent from the start that we believe the imposition of tariffs is a retrograde step for global trade and the global economy," he said, adding that EU policymakers are happy to see any updates in the global trade spat that increase stability and predictability for trade and investment that respect global rules. "From the EU perspective, we want to lower barriers, not increase them. This announcement appears to go in that direction, so we welcome it," he said.

Separately, the EU executive is balancing reaching a trade deal of its own with the U.S. and coming up with a plan to respond to U.S. President Trump's far-reaching tariffs if those talks fail. The Commission last week released a new list of U.S. goods worth roughly 95 billion euros ($106.87 billion) it says could face tariffs, which includes chemicals and plastics, electrical equipment, health-related products, machinery and agricultural products as well as whiskey.

Gill also said the EU is "closely analyzing" the recent trade agreement reached between the U.S. and U.K.. "As always we will assess its content and potential implications carefully, particularly with regard to any effects on EU interests or the broader global trade environment," he said.

Write to Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 12, 2025 08:06 ET (12:06 GMT)

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