US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he was suspending planned 50% tariffs on the European Union until July 9.
He made the announcement on his Truth Social network.
That agreement came after a call Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
“Good call with @POTUS,” Von der Leyen wrote on X. “The EU and US share the world’s most consequential and close trade relationship. Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively. To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9.”
What did Trump say?
Von der Leyen said “talks will begin rapidly,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that it was his “privilege” to agree to the “extension.”
Speaking to reporters on Sunday before boarding the US presidential aircraft Air Force One, Trump said Von der Leyen had “asked for an extension on the June 1st date, and she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation.”
How did we get to this stage?
Authorities in Brussels and Washington have been negotiating to avoid a trade war sparked by Trump’s April announcement that he would slap tariffs on most of the US’ trading partners.
Trump threatened a 20% tariff on most EU goods, before halving it to 10% with a deadline of July 8.
On Friday, Trump said he would impose a 50% tariff on the EU from June 1 because trade talks with the bloc were “going nowhere.”
Now, he has agreed to an “extension” to the original July deadline announced last month.
The bloc, which Trump has repeatedly accused of having “taken advantage” of the US, has been hit with three rounds of tariffs: a 25% tax on imports of steel and aluminum and cars, a 20% “reciprocal” tariff on all imports, which has been lifted while trade talks are ongoing. A “universal” baseline 10% tariff, however, remains in place.
The EU, for its part, has said it will tax US goods in response.
Europeans call for “respect” not “threats”
Maros Sefvociv, the EU’s trade commissioner, has said the EU is “committed” to reaching an agreement but insisted that the transatlantic relationship be based on “mutual respect” instead of “threats.”
On Sunday, Germany’s Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said he was hoping for “serious negotiations” with the White House but urged against “further provocations”, adding that he had discussed the issue with his American counterpart Scott Bessent.
Klingbeil also pointed out this weekend that Trump’s tariffs don’t help anyone, and endanger the US economy “just as much as the German and European” economies.
Edited by: John Silk
