EU trade boss heads to Washington amid tariff pause

BRUSSELS ― EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič will travel to Washington on Monday to meet his U.S. counterparts after the bloc promised to suspend its metals retaliation tariffs.

The European Commission's spokesperson for trade Olof Gill confirmed the visit at the daily press briefing in Brussels on Friday.

“Our offer stands to reduce tariffs zero-for-zero with our American friends,” Gill added, referring to the zero-for-zero tariff offer that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen repeated this week.

Šefčovič's visit comes after U.S. President Donald Trump made a stunning U-turn and paused parts of his so-called Liberation Day tariffs and raised tariffs on China to a total of 145 percent. The EU said it would pause its own retaliation by 90 days as well.

The U.S. still maintains a 10 percent overall tariff on global imports, plus 25 percent tariffs on steel, aluminum and cars.

It will be the third time Šefčovič will travel to Washington since Trump returned to the White House in January.