President Donald Trump has graciously extended the deadline for his 50% tariff barrage on the European Union — now rescheduled for 9 July — following what he described as a “very nice call” with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“We had a pleasant conversation, and I agreed to move the date,” Trump told reporters Sunday, casually dropping the news on the tarmac at Morristown airport in New Jersey en route back to Washington.
Von der Leyen, doing her best to sound upbeat on X earlier that day, said Europe is “ready to move swiftly and decisively” on trade talks but insisted that “a good deal” will take time — until 9 July, to be exact. That date coincides with the end of Trump’s initial 90-day grace period for his so-called reciprocal tariffs.
Until then, a reduced EU tariff rate of 10% (down from the planned 20%) remains in place—at least on paper. But the US president, never one to miss a deadline for drama, threatened on Friday to proceed with 50% tariffs from 1 June, accusing the EU of dragging its feet, targeting US companies with lawsuits, and generally being uncooperative.
Markets, ever the optimists, welcomed the delay. US and European equity futures bounced alongside Asian stocks on Monday. The dollar, battered by a recent selloff, continued its wobble, hitting levels last seen in December 2023.
The EU, meanwhile, appears as baffled as ever by Trump’s intentions. While Brussels has floated the idea of mutual tariff reductions, Trump remains laser-focused on “non-tariff barriers” — a vague category that could include anything from safety standards to the wrong kind of cheese.
Treasury official Michael Faulkender, speaking to Fox News on Sunday, painted a diplomatic headache: the US, he explained, is simultaneously trying to negotiate tariffs with the EU as a bloc while tackling those elusive “non-tariff” issues bilaterally with member states. The result? A “negotiating problem.” One might call it strategic ambiguity; others prefer “utter confusion.”
Last week, the EU dusted off an old trade proposal and sent it across the Atlantic, followed by a Friday call between EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and his US counterpart, Jamieson Greer. The new EU proposal — still under wraps — reportedly spans tariff and non-tariff measures, economic security, investment screening, and good old-fashioned geopolitical cooperation.
Still, Trump’s 50% tariff threat looms large. Bloomberg Economics estimates it would impact $321 billion in transatlantic trade, cut US GDP by nearly 0.6%, and add over 0.3% to consumer prices. But apparently, that’s the price of “encouraging” manufacturers to abandon Europe and restore factories in America.
That same day, Trump also floated a 25% tariff on smartphones made abroad — casually name-dropping Apple and Samsung — before pivoting to textiles, where he reassured voters that he has no plans to bring back T-shirt factories.
“We don’t want to make trainers and T-shirts. We want to build military gear,” Trump declared, adding that he envisions America producing “big stuff” — chips, computers, and a brave new world of AI.
Nothing says geopolitical strategy like a 50% tariff on French wine and a robot that runs on American microchips.