US President extends EU tariff deadline until 9 July

US President Donald Trump has said he would pause his threatened 50% tariffs on the European Union until 9 July, after a “very nice call” with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

On Friday, Mr Trump threatened to impose the steep tariffs as soon as 1 June, saying talks with the EU over his previous levies were “going nowhere.”

Ms von der Leyen “just called me and she asked for an extension on the 1 June date, and she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation,” Mr Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey.

“And I agreed to do that,” he added.

Ms von der Leyen had earlier said on X that she held a “good call” with President Trump, but that “to reach a good deal, we would need the time until 9 July.”

“Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively,” she said.

The EU and the United States have been negotiating in a bid to avert an all-out transatlantic trade war, and had agreed to suspend tariff action on both sides until July.

But Mr Trump’s threat on Friday dramatically raised the stakes.

The US leader said he was “not looking for a deal” with the EU, repeating his oft-stated view that the bloc was created to “take advantage” of the United States.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil separately called for “serious negotiations” with the US, saying he had spoken with his US counterpart Scott Bessent about the matter.

“We don’t need any further provocations, but serious negotiations,” Mr Klingbeil, who is also Germany’s vice chancellor, told Bild newspaper.

“The US tariffs endanger the US economy just as much as the German and European economy,” Mr Klingbeil warned.

Mr Trump has hit the bloc with three sets of tariffs: 25% on steel and aluminium and on automobiles, followed by a 20% “reciprocal” levy on all imports – which has been suspended pending talks, though a baseline 10% remains in force.

EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, who held talks with his US counterparts on Friday, responded to Mr Trump’s latest outburst by saying the bloc was “committed to securing a deal” but that trade ties should be based on “mutual respect, not threats”.

The EU has announced plans to hit US goods worth nearly €100 billion with tariffs if negotiations fail to produce a deal.

The US trade deficit in goods with the European Union was $236 billion in 2024.

But when taking account of services, where US firms are dominant, the European Commission calculates that the US trade deficit stood at €50 billion.