Key Points
- President Trump delays tariffs on the EU until July 9 after a request from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
- Trump unexpectedly threatened 50% duties on the EU, surprising European officials who thought progress was being made.
- The extension gives the U.S. and EU just over a month to reach an agreement, with the EU ready to advance talks swiftly.
Washington, Indonesianpost.com — The U.S. will delay tariffs on the European Union until July 9, President Trump said on Sunday, giving a reprieve to his threat for 50% tariffs on the 27-nation bloc that were set to go into effect on June 1.
Trump said in a social-media post that he received a call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen requesting an extension. “It was my privilege to do so,” he wrote.
“She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” Trump told a gaggle of reporters.
The extension on the tariff deadline comes after Trump unexpectedly threatened duties of 50% on the EU on Friday morning. The move surprised European officials who thought they were making progress with his administration on talks to avert the 20% “reciprocal” tariffs Trump announced in April—and then paused for 90 days.
Trump, however, wrote on Truth Social on Friday that he felt talks with the EU were “going nowhere,” and cited a litany of his trade irritants, from the EU’s value-added taxes to fines and regulations on U.S. companies. The sides also have yet to agree on how to align their trade policies on China, though the EU has privately indicated it is willing to work with the U.S. to combat Beijing’s subsidies for key industries such as steel.
Trump has long maligned the EU, which he says was formed to take advantage of the U.S., and decried the U.S.’s persistent trade deficit with the continent. The EU, meanwhile, has said it wouldn’t negotiate over certain Trump demands, such as value-added taxes. And some European ministers have made clear that they wouldn’t accept a deal that keeps Trump’s 10% baseline tariff in place—a concession the U.K. made in a pact signed early this month.
Trump’s statement on Sunday reverts the negotiations back to where they were before his Friday missive, giving the sides just over a month to come to an agreement.
In a statement on X, von der Leyen said the EU is “ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively,” adding that to “reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9.” (Nas/WSJ)