President Trump announced Sunday that he would delay his threatened 50% tariff on the European Union to July 9. "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," he wrote on Truth Social. "I agreed to the extension—July 9, 2025—It was my privilege to do so." He said von der Leyen promised that "talks would begin rapidly," USA Today reports. Von der Leyen had herself posted that she and the US president had a "good call" but that she needed until early July to "reach a good deal," CNBC reports.
"The EU and US share the world's most consequential and close trade relationship," she wrote in a post on X. "Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively." Trump initially imposed a 20% tariff on the EU, then brought it down to 10% for 90 days, before last week threatening the 50% rate that he initially said would start June 1. His reasoning for the higher tariff, he said at the time, was that the EU "has been very difficult to deal with" and negotiations were "going nowhere." (More President Trump stories.)