Trump delays EU tariffs until July 9

Deal must be reached to avoid 50% tariffs

- ALAN RAPPEPORT ANA SWANSON

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he would delay imposing 50% tariffs on all imports from the European Union until July 9 to allow more time for trade negotiations.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that he had spoken to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, about his recent threat to enact the tariffs on June 1 if a trade deal could not be reached in the next week.

Trump has expressed frustration over negotiations with the EU, saying that the union has been slow to offer trade concessions during a 90-day window to reach a deal that satisfies the administration. But his threat to hit the EU with a steep tariff raised the chances of an economically destabilising trade war with one of the world’s largest economies.

On Sunday, Trump appeared to relent, at least for now.

“The Commission President said that talks will begin rapidly,” Trump wrote, referring to Ms von der Leyen. The European Commission is the executive arm of the European Union.

Ms von der Leyen, in a separate social media post Sunday, said that she had a “good call” with Trump and had conveyed to him that the EU needed extra time to reach a trade deal. She said that talks would advance “swiftly and decisively.”