Trump extends EU tariff deadline to July 9
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Dr Ursula von der Leyen (right) had earlier said on X that she held a “good call” with Mr Trump, but that “to reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9”.
PHOTOS: HAIYUN JIANG/NYTIMES, EPA-EFE
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WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS - US President Donald Trump said on May 25 that he would pause his threatened 50 per cent tariffs on the European Union
Mr Trump had threatened on May 23 to invoke the steep tariffs as soon as June 1, saying talks with the EU over his previous levies were “going nowhere”.
Dr von der Leyen “just called me... and she asked for an extension on the June 1 date, and she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”, Mr Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey.
“And I agreed to do that,” he added.
Dr von der Leyen had earlier said on X that she held a “good call” with Mr Trump, but that “to reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9”.
“Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively,” said the president of the European Commission, which conducts trade policy for the 27-nation bloc.
Brussels and the US have been negotiating in a bid to avert an all-out transatlantic trade war, and had agreed to suspend tariff action on both sides until July.
But Mr Trump’s threat on May 23 dramatically upped the stakes.
He said he was “not looking for a deal” with the EU, repeating his oft-stated view that the bloc was created to “take advantage” of the US.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil separately on May 25 called for “serious negotiations” with Washington, saying he had spoken with his US counterpart Scott Bessent about the matter.
“We don’t need any further provocations, but serious negotiations,” Mr Klingbeil, who is also Germany’s Vice-Chancellor, told the Bild newspaper.
“The US tariffs endanger the US economy just as much as the German and European economy,” Mr Klingbeil warned.
Mr Trump has hit the bloc with three sets of tariffs: 25 per cent on steel and aluminium and on automobiles, followed by a 20 per cent “reciprocal” levy on all imports – which has been suspended pending talks, though a baseline 10 per cent remains in force.
The EU’s trade chief Maros Sefcovic, who held talks with his US counterparts on May 23, responded to Mr Trump’s latest outburst by saying the bloc was “committed to securing a deal” but that trade ties should be based on “mutual respect, not threats”.
Brussels has announced plans to hit US goods worth nearly €100 billion (S$146 billion) with tariffs if negotiations fail to produce a deal.
The US trade deficit in goods with the EU was US$236 billion (S$303 billion) in 2024.
But when taking into account services, where American firms are dominant, the European Commission calculates that the US trade deficit stood at €50 billion. AFP
