The EU and the US are set to undergo talks to avoid the possibility of additional tariffs after president Donald Trump agreed to delay proposed new levies by a month.
On Friday (May 23rd), Mr Trump wrote on social media that he would be imposing tariffs of 50 percent on all EU imports from June 1st after expressing frustration with the pace of negotiations.
However, over the weekend, following what he described as a "very nice" phone call with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Mr Trump stated this deadline was being pushed back to July 9th.
Ms Von der Leyen said on social media: "The EU and US share the world’s most consequential and close trade relationship. Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively. To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9th."
The EU has threatened to impose its own tariffs in response to levies unveiled last month, which were initially set at 20 percent, before being dropped to ten percent.
EU leaders have welcomed the delay, but stressed the need for de-escalation and mutual respect in order to avoid a trade war that harms both economies.
Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin, for example, stated: "I think everybody so far appreciates the European Union's approach in terms of not overreacting to various announcements and to various decisions, but rather to focus on negotiating a resolution to this."
He added: "Tariffs are not good for our economy. They're not good for the world economy. They're not good for consumers."
Meanwhile, shares in smartphone manufacturers have fallen as they became the latest sector to be targeted by Mr Trump's tariff announcements. Also on Friday, he declared that Apple and Samsung should shift production of phones to the US, threatening tariffs of 25 percent on any imported items, regardless of their country of origin.