EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels will keep holding off on hitting back at US steel and aluminium tariffs, as it seeks a deal to ward off broader 30-percent levies.
"The United States has sent us a letter with measures that would come into effect unless there is a negotiated solution, so we will therefore also extend the suspension of our countermeasures until early August," von der Leyen said on Sunday.
The EU's current suspension of its retaliation over US steel and aluminium tariffs had been set to expire overnight Monday to Tuesday.
EU needs 'decisive measures' if no 'fair' US tariff deal: Berlin
"Decisive measures" to counter US tariffs will be necessary if no "fair" deal is reached with Washington to avert threatened tariffs against the EU, the German finance minister said Sunday.
Lars Klingbeil told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that "serious and solution-oriented negotiations" with the US were still necessary, but added that if they fail, the EU would need "decisive counter-measures to protect jobs and businesses in Europe".
Belgian tech federation calls US tariffs 'economic disaster'
The head of Belgium’s technology federation Agoria warned that the new US tariffs on the EU would be “an economic disaster," Belga news agency reported on Sunday.
"Nothing short of an economic disaster threatens the (technology) industry in Belgium if there is no better, negotiated deal between Europe and the United States by 1 August,” said Bart Steukers.
Steukers urged Belgian and European leaders to respond “rationally and intelligently," avoiding escalation while exploring alternative opportunities beyond the US.
"There are several other trade agreements on the table. Those that are around, with Mercosur, Mexico and Chile, must be concluded without delay.
"Belgium has still not fully ratified CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) with Canada. And negotiations with Australia, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia should also be finalized as soon as possible," he noted.
Calling for a smoother single market, Steukers reiterated the need to remove internal trade barriers and market distortions within the EU.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot on Saturday also called for the resumption of negotiations until August 1 to return to a "mutually beneficial" partnership rather than having a "sterile arm wrestling."
"This escalation of tariffs will only lead to a lose-lose situation. The US's trade aggression against its European allies is unjustified and a source of what investors fear most: uncertainty, insecurity and fragility," he wrote on X.
On Saturday, Trump announced that the US will impose 30 percent tariffs on the EU and Mexico starting from August 1, putting US-EU trade talks at risk, as the bloc had aimed to finalize a comprehensive trade deal this month.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump shared separate letters addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, announcing a 30 percent tariff on goods bound for the US from Europe and Mexico.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen then voiced readiness to work toward an agreement with the US by August 1 and vowed to take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures.
EU and Indonesia announce 'political agreement' on trade deal
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday announced a "political agreement" to conclude a long-awaited free trade deal, as US leader Donald Trump upends global commerce.
"We're living in turbulent times and when economic uncertainty meets geopolitical volatility, partners like us must come closer together. So today we're taking a big step forward in this partnership," von der Leyen told journalists in Brussels.
"I am very pleased to report that we have just reached a political agreement on an ambitious Free Trade Agreement."
The 27-nation European bloc and Southeast Asia's largest economy have been negotiating since 2016 to agree a deal that is expected to increase trade and investment.
A European Commission statement called Sunday's agreement a "decisive milestone" towards striking the deal -- which is to be concluded in September by EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and Indonesia's chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto.
"There's a lot of untapped potential in our trade relationship. And therefore this agreement comes at the right time, because the new agreement will open new markets," von der Leyen said.
"It will create more opportunities in key industries, in business activity and agriculture, in automotive and in services."
Brussels has stepped up efforts to improve ties with key potential partners around the world as Trump threatens a trade war with sweeping tariffs.
"This big and important political agreement on the free trade agreement with Indonesia is today a huge milestone forward, and shows that we're looking for new markets, open markets," von der Leyen said.
Prabowo called the announcement in Brussels a "breakthrough".
"After 10 years of negotiations, we have concluded the agreement to have a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which basically is a free trade agreement," he said.
The president said "we consider Europe still a very important factor, and we would like to see a very strong Europe."
But he insisted that "the United States will be always a very important leader in the world".
The European Union is Indonesia's fifth-largest trading partner with bilateral trade between them reaching $30.1 billion last year.
Ties had been frayed by a proposed EU import ban on products linked to deforestation that has angered Indonesia because it is a major palm oil exporter.
That legislation has been delayed to the end of this year.
