US President Donald Trump announced a six-week postponement of planned 50% tariffs on European Union goods, pushing the implementation date from June 1 to July 9 to allow for intensified negotiations. The decision follows a Sunday phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whom Trump described as eager for "serious negotiations."
In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump revealed the EU had since requested expedited meetings, calling it "a positive event." The president framed the tariff threat, which would affect $11 billion of EU products, as leverage to force trade concessions, boasting, "I am empowered to 'SET A DEAL' if we're treated unfairly."
Trump drew direct parallels to his China trade strategy, demanding the EU "open up" its markets to US goods. "They will BOTH be very happy, and successful, if they do!!!" he wrote, suggesting mutual gains from compliance.
Von der Leyen struck a more diplomatic tone, emphasizing the transatlantic partnership as "the world's most consequential and close trade relationship." The delay comes as European automakers particularly feared the tariffs, which Trump originally justified using a dubious 1962 national security law.
Observers note the postponement mirrors Trump's pattern of escalating trade threats before eleventh-hour negotiations. With just 40 days until the new deadline, Brussels faces pressure to offer meaningful agricultural and industrial market access to avoid renewed tensions.
