BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive commission said Thursday it will put trade retaliation measures on hold for 90 days to match President Donald Trump’s pause on his sweeping new tariffs and leave room for a negotiated solution.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the commission, which handles trade for the bloc's 27 member countries, “took note of the announcement by President Trump.”
New tariffs on 20.9 billion euros ($23 billion) of US goods will be put on hold for 90 days because “we want to give negotiations a chance,” she said in a statement.
But she warned: “If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in.”
Trump imposed a 20% levy on goods from the EU as part of his onslaught of tariffs of 10% and upward against global trading partners but said Wednesday he will pause them for 90 days to give countries a chance to negotiate solutions to U.S. trade concerns.
Countries subject to the pause will face Trump's 10% baseline tariff.
Before Trump’s announcement, EU member countries voted to approve a set of retaliatory tariffs on $23 billion in goods in response to his 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum that took effect in March. The EU, the largest trading partner of the U.S., described them as “unjustified and damaging.”
The EU tariffs were set to go into effect in stages, some on April 15 and others on May 15 and Dec. 1. The EU commission didn’t immediately provide a list of the goods.
Members of the EU — the world’s largest trading bloc — have said they prefer a negotiated deal to resolve a trade war that damages the economies on both sides. The bloc’s top trade official has shuttled between Brussels and Washington for weeks trying to head off a conflict. The EU has offered Trump a “zero for zero” deal in which both sides would eliminate tariffs on industrial goods including autos. Trump has said that's not enough to answer U.S. concerns and raised the possibility of Europe buying large additional amounts of U.S. liquefied natural gas.
The targeted goods are a tiny fraction of the 1.6 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion) in U.S.-EU annual trade. Some 4.4 billion euros in goods and services crosses the Atlantic each day in what the European Commission calls “the most important commercial relationship in the world.”
The EU has targeted smaller lists of goods in hopes of exerting political pressure and avoiding economic damage from a wider escalation of tit-for-tat tariffs.
The EU is also working on a further set of countermeasures in response to Trump’s blanket 20% tariff on all European goods, now suspended. That could include measures aimed at U.S. tech companies and the services sector as well as trade in goods.
Still, von der Leyen said that Europe intends to diversify its trade partnerships.
She said that the EU will continue “engaging with countries that account for 87% of global trade and share our commitment to a free and open exchange of goods, services, and ideas,” and to lift barriers to commerce inside its own single market.
“Together, Europeans will emerge stronger from this crisis,” von der Leyen said.
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McHugh reported from Frankfurt, Germany
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses journalists during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stands prior to a meeting with Iceland's Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
The NYK Meteor container ship is moored at the Port of Los Angeles, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Drones attacked a vessel carrying aid to Gaza on Friday in international waters off Malta, the group organizing the shipment said, in the latest confrontation over efforts to send assistance to the Palestinian territory devastated by nearly 19 months of war.
A nearby tugboat responded to a distress call from the Conscience, which authorities said experienced a fire that was brought under control. The vessel was carrying 12 crew members and four civilians, the Maltese government said, adding that those aboard refused to leave the ship. The group was safe and no serious injuries were reported, it said.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition accused Israel of attacking its ship. The group did not provide evidence for that claim or to show that the fire was caused by drones, but in a video it shared an explosion could be heard. Another video showed a fire blazing.
The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment. Israel has cut off Gaza from all imports, including food and medicine, since the beginning of March, leading to what is believed to be the worst humanitarian crisis in the war with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group.
Video from aboard the Conscience appeared to show at least two large holes in the deck, with thick smoke surrounding the ship. The person recording the footage said the vessel had just been hit twice and was on fire about 14 miles from port in Malta. The video was provided by Codepink, a grassroots peace and social justice movement.
The ship is not taking on water, but its generator was badly damaged and will need to be repaired before continuing, Charlie Andreasson, who has been involved with the Freedom Flotilla for more than a decade, told The Associated Press. He said some crew members suffered minor injuries while putting out the fire.
The damaged ship now appears to be stranded at anchor in international waters, said Tighe Barry, a Codepink member who was among a group of activists who took speedboats to the Conscience after the attack. The boats were turned away by Maltese authorities, he said, but one person made it aboard and spoke to the captain.
Barry said the nation of Palau revoked its flag from the Conscience prior to the attack, and authorities in Malta, Greece and Turkey have threatened to confiscate the ship if it comes to port. Barry said the ship was loaded with medicine and food supplies for Gaza.
“To get a new flag will take months, so they're just stuck out there,” Barry said of the crew.
Israel says the blockade is an attempt to pressure Hamas to release hostages it took during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the conflict. Hamas-led militants assaulted southern Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Israel’s bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of the territory and left most of its population homeless.
When an aid flotilla attempted to break a blockade of Gaza in 2010, Israeli forces stormed a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, killing nine people on board.
On Friday, the Conscience was hit about 16 miles (26 kilometers) from Malta, according to the Freedom Flotilla.
Andreasson said he had spoken to people on board who said there were two explosions and the fire.
Photos provided by the Cypriot authorities showed the ship with damage to its side. No one aboard the vessel could immediately be reached for comment.
Earlier the group said the strike appeared to have targeted the ship’s generator, causing a “substantial breach in the hull” and leaving it without power. It said that put the vessel at risk of sinking.
According to the ship-monitoring website Marine Traffic, the Conscience left the Tunisian port of Bizerte on Tuesday and arrived Thursday morning in the area where it reported being attacked. The organizers said the ship was hit Friday, just after midnight.
Volunteers who had traveled to Malta were meant to board the ship to go to Gaza, the group said. Andreasson said climate activist Greta Thunberg was supposed to have participated. The organization said Thunberg did not board and was safe.
About two dozen volunteers, including Thunberg, took smaller boats to the Conscience to assess the damage after the attack, said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Codepink. Benjamin said the ship's crew are from Turkey and Azerbaijan.
The attack happened as aid groups have warned that the humanitarian response in Gaza is on the verge of collapse.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday that it will not have access to food, medicine and life-saving supplies needed for many of its Gaza programs if aid deliveries don’t resume immediately.
Programs at risk include “common kitchens” that often give residents the only meal they receive each day and could be forced to halt operations in a few weeks, the ICRC said.
“Aid must be allowed to enter Gaza. Hostages must be released. Civilians must be protected,” the committee said. “Without immediate action, Gaza will descend further into chaos that humanitarian efforts will not be able to mitigate.”
Brito contributed from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel; Giada Zampano in Rome; Kevin Schembri Orland in St. Julian’s, Malta; Colleen Barry in Soave, Italy; Elena Becatoros and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Jamey Keaten in Geneva; Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus; and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
In this photo provided by the Government of Cyprus, a fire burns on the ship The Conscience, after a drone struck the vessel carrying aid to Gaza off the coast of Malta, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Government of Cyprus via AP)
This photo provided by the Goverment of Cyprus and taken from the EDT ship AEOLUS shows The Conscience, after a drone struck the vessel carrying aid to Gaza off the coast of Malta, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Government of Cyprus via AP)
A firefighting-equipped tug boat, left, contacted by the Malta Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) helps controlling a fire occurred on the bow of the Conscience vessel in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Malta Vessel Traffic Services via AP)
