European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen looks on during a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Council President Antonio Costa, during an EU-Canada summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo)

Trump said on Saturday he would impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico from August 1, adding to similar warnings for other countries and leaving them less than three weeks to hammer out framework deals that could lower the threatened tariff rate.

White House Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett said on Sunday that countries' trade deal offers so far have not satisfied Trump and "the tariffs are real" without improvements.

Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU's executive Commission which handles trade policy for the 27 member states, said the bloc would maintain its two-track approach: keep talking and prepare retaliatory measures.

"We have always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution. This remains the case, and we will use the time that we have now," von der Leyen told a press conference, adding that the bloc would extend its halt on countermeasures until August.

Von der Leyen's decision to resist immediate retaliatory measures points to the European Commission's desire to avoid a spiralling tit-for-tat escalation in the trade war while there remains a chance of negotiating an improved outcome.