WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Tuesday said the one-month extension of the exemption from new steel and aluminum tariffs granted to the European Union was the result of promising discussions to reduce trade tensions, and he does not anticipate granting exemptions to become a continuing practice.

“We’re having some potentially fruitful discussions about an overall reduction in trade tensions,” he said in a CNBC interview. “I don’t think we have any intention to grant protracted extensions, that defeats the whole purpose.”

Reporting by Lisa Lambert and David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama