After EU pauses tariff countermeasures on US, bloc trade commissioner Šefčovič to go to Washington on Sunday | World News

European Union Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefcovic is set to travel to Washington Sunday for trade and tariff negotiations, news agency Reuters reported. The announcement of Šefcovic’s visit, made an EU spokesperson, comes a day after the bloc paused its tariff countermeasures imposed on the United States.
EU announced a 90-day pause on countermeasures after US President Donald Trump unveiled a similar pause on his “reciprocal” tariffs.
During his visit, Šefčovič will hold meetings with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said, with the bloc hoping to advance negotiations on tariffs after weeks of deadlock.
Story continues below this ad

“The EU is willing to find win-win outcomes, mutual beneficially deals with our American counterparts to avoid tariffs and to avoid any harmful escalation that would be damaging on both sides of the Atlantic,” Gill said.
The EU has offered to level US and EU tariffs to 0% on industrial goods. The US currently imposes 25% tariffs on EU imports of aluminium and steel, 25% tariffs on EU cars and 10% tariffs across the board.
“We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods, as we have successfully done with many other trading partners,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday before the pause was announced  Washington.
“We want to give negotiations a chance,” CNN quoted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as saying on Thursday.Story continues below this ad
Trump climbed down from his threat to further escalate trade tensions with countries all over the world late Wednesday, as he announced to pause ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs for 90 days on all countries except for China, while retaining a minimum 10% global duty.
Trump’s pause on the EU and other countries, including India, caught Beijing unawares as it was hoping to mobilise global opposition to Trump’s tariffs.
Trump hiked the tariff on Chinese imports to 125 per cent from the 104 per cent level that kicked in on Wednesday.

However, the US President has also hinted at the possibility of a resolution with China on trade. “China wants to make a deal,” Trump said. “They just don’t know how quite to go about it.”Story continues below this ad
The EU was important for China as it was among the top three largest export destinations, along with ASEAN and the US.