Trump makes U-turn by delaying 50% tariffs on EU until July

US President Donald Trump will now extend the deadline to negotiate tariffs with the EU by more than a month. In what is becoming his trademark back-and-forth with negotiations, the US president had further calls with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, over the weekend in a bid to reach a trade deal.

Von der Leyen said in a post on social media site X that she told Trump the EU needed until July 9 to “reach a good deal.” She stressed that the EU was poised to move forward with trade discussions “swiftly and decisively.”

Last Friday, President Trump said he would introduce the 50% tariffs from June 1, while the EU claimed they would respond with their own measures.

He had previously announced a 20% tariff on most EU goods, which was later reduced to 10% to allow time for negotiations.

More time to negotiate

But yesterday (Sunday, May 25), President Trump confirmed on social media that he has accepted the July 9 deadline. 

The EU is one of America’s largest trading partners and the two regions have been locked in trade talks for weeks. Trump claims the US and EU relationship has historically been unfair and has pointed to concerns over many different agricultural goods and F&B products.

Stakeholders in the F&B and agri-food industries have been closely monitoring the tariff talks since the start of April when President Trump initially announced his “Liberation Day,” a set of tariff measures impacting many countries worldwide.