BRUSSELS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday the dialogue with the United States is key to avoid protectionism.

Tusk made the remarks at a news conference after an EU summit meeting in Brussels.

"We need to avoid protectionism at the global level. This is a major risk for jobs, not only in Europe. In this respect, dialogue with the U.S.is key," he said.

Tusk said the EU leaders were waiting for Washington to confirm the news that the EU would be exempted from the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs which was reportedly disclosed by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Speaking to the Senate Finance Committee, Lighthizer said on Thursday the U.S. will grant the EU and six other economies a temporary exemption from the steel and aluminum tariffs signed off by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month.

Lighthizer said that there are countries involved in various stages of trade talks with the United States and that the president decided "to pause the imposition of tariffs with respect to those countries."

"While expecting the US decision on exempting the EU from the proposed tariffs on steel and aluminium, I had decided to move the trade discussion to later this evening," Tusk said.

"We will present the EU's approach in more detail tomorrow, following the leaders' debate," he added.

The announcement of temporary exemption by Lighthizer followed EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom's trip to Washington for talks with Lighthizer and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

"We have agreed to launch immediately a process of discussion with President Trump and the Trump Administration on trade issues of common concern, including steel and aluminum, with a view to identifying mutually acceptable outcomes as rapidly as possible," said a joint statement following their meeting.

Malmstrom said that the EU bloc is "always willing to engage with our American partners, but we do not negotiate anything under pressure or threat."

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters that he wanted more details on the exemptions to U.S. tariffs, and was concerned about whether those exemptions were linked to conditions.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Europe were united in support of free trade and rejection of protectionism.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he was waiting for a final announcement on U.S. tariffs.

In a statement of the summit, the EU said it "reaffirms its commitment to an open and rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core."