Trump delays 50% tariffs on Europe after phone call with EU leader

President Donald Trump has postponed his threat to hit European goods with massive 50% taxes until 9 July, following a phone conversation with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The US president had originally planned to start charging these heavy import taxes on 1 June, but changed his mind after speaking with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who heads the EU’s executive arm.

“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it,” Trump told reporters Sunday at Morristown Airport in New Jersey on his way back to Washington.

Von der Leyen responded on social media earlier Sunday, saying “Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively,” but “a good deal” will need “time until July 9.” This new deadline matches when Trump’s original 90-day break from his trade taxes was meant to end anyway.

Europe was already facing a 20% tax on goods sold to America under Trump’s policies announced in April. This rate had been temporarily cut to 10% until 9 July. But Trump became angry on Friday, threatening the much higher 50% rate because he felt European officials were dragging their feet in talks and unfairly attacking American companies through lawsuits and rules.

Stock markets in Asia rose after Trump’s announcement on Sunday. The US dollar, which had fallen to its lowest point since December 2023 on Friday, fluctuated.

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European leaders have been trying to figure out exactly what Trump wants from trade negotiations. They’ve suggested both sides could remove taxes on many products entirely, but Trump is more concerned with what he calls non-tax barriers to trade.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender explained the challenge on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures earlier, saying America faces a “simultaneous challenge” of negotiating with the EU as a bloc on tariffs whilst also seeking to address most of those non-tariff barriers in talks with individual European nations, creating a “negotiation problem.”

Europe tried to restart talks last week by sending America a new trade proposal. The EU’s trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, spoke by phone with his US counterpart, Jamieson Greer, on Friday.

The new European proposal covers both tax and non-tax trade barriers, plus ways to improve economic security, shared investments, strategic purchases and cooperation on global challenges, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the terms, which are not public.

If Trump does impose the 50% tariffs, it would affect $321 billion worth of trade between America and Europe. Economic experts calculate this would reduce America’s total economic output by nearly 0.6% and push up prices by more than 0.3%.

Trump has said he wants to use import taxes to force companies to build factories in America instead of making products overseas. On the same day he threatened Europe with 50% tariffs, he also warned of 25% taxes on mobile phones made abroad by companies like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.

However, on Sunday Trump agreed with recent comments by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that America doesn’t need to bring back clothing manufacturing.

“We’re not looking to make sneakers and T-shirts, and we want to make military equipment,” Trump said, adding he wants to make “big things” in the US, citing chips, computers and AI development.