President Trump agreed to extend the deadline for the steep 50% tariffs he threatened to impose on the European Union beginning next week after a “very nice talk” with the head of the Brussels-based bloc.
Trump announced on Sunday night that he was pushing back the June 1 deadline to July 9 after a phone call with the president of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen.
“I received a call today from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, requesting an extension on the June 1st deadline on the 50% Tariff with respect to Trade and the European Union,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “I agreed to the extension — July 9, 2025 — It was my privilege to do so. The Commission President said that talks will begin rapidly. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump was responding to a message that von der Leyen sent just a few hours before.
“Good call with @POTUS. The EU and US share the world’s most consequential and close relationship. Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively,” she wrote on X. “To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9.”
Trump’s 50% duty threat announced on Friday shocked stock prices and sent them tumbling ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.
The commander in chief agreed to delay the tariffs after his conversation with von der Leyen and told White House reporters Sunday that they would get together to negotiate the trade deal “rapidly.”
“She asked for an extension from the June 1 date and she said she wants to get down to serious negotiations. And we had a very nice talk and I agreed,” the president said, noting that July 9 was the new deadline. “That was the date she requested and I agreed to do that. And she said we will rapidly get together to see if we could work something out.”
Trump, 78, granted the EU the extension after a source on Friday said the president was serious about playing “hardball” with the economic entity.
“You can either play ball with POTUS or he’s going to play ball with you,” the source told The Post, later adding the strategy was “also known as ‘FAFO’ [f—k around and find out].”
The president’s move had quick market consequences, sparking a 256-point loss for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, saw the Nasdaq fall 188 points and the S&P 500 lose 39 points.
“I would hope that this would light a fire under the EU,” Treasury Scott Bessent said of Trump’s warning Friday. “Some of the feedback that I’ve been getting is that the underlying countries don’t even know what the EU is negotiating on their behalf.”
The EU is made up of 27 nations, and it has a huge range of products that it exports to the US – everything from pharmaceuticals, machinery, cars and electric equipment to agricultural products like wine, cheese, olive oil and fruits and vegetables.
On April 2 – which Trump dubbed “Liberation Day” – he announced his tariff regime. A week later, he imposed a 90-day pause on his tariffs, leaving the door open for countries to negotiate a new deal with the US one-on-one, while retaining a 10% rate on all countries except China.
So far, Trump has negotiated a deal with the United Kingdom and hashed out a preliminary agreement with China. Negotiations are ongoing.
Trump said last week that if a country wanted to strike a deal, it needed to act fast because the clock was running out. He reminded the world that his administration could be enacting a new round of tariff rates soon.
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