Just when it seemed that a trade escalation between the United States and the European Union was inevitable, an unexpected turn of events changed the course: Donald Trump, following what he described as a “good phone call” with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, announced a postponement of the planned 50% tariffs on European imports, originally scheduled to take effect on June 1. The new deadline is now set for July 9, a move that Trump himself called “a privilege,” justified by his desire to leave room for renewed negotiations with Brussels.
According to the U.S. President, Ursula von der Leyen had expressed a clear willingness to initiate concrete and timely negotiations.
The Republican leader reiterated that all members of his staff had been instructed on the importance of initiating dialogue and emphasized that the Europeans had signaled readiness to meet soon in hopes of finding a solution.
Only a few days earlier, through a sharply worded post on Truth Social, Trump had renewed his threat of 50% tariffs on EU products, accusing the 27-member bloc of being particularly difficult to deal with in trade negotiations. He claimed the talks were going nowhere and even encouraged European companies to relocate to the U.S. to avoid the tariffs while also hinting at a possible 25% levy on all iPhones not manufactured on American soil.
Those declarations sent markets into a panic. The mere prospect of further tariff measures caused stock markets to plummet. Analysts warned investors that even if these threats are part of a broader negotiation strategy, the uncertainty caused by such abrupt and conflicting messages is highly detrimental to global economic growth.
Now, the call with von der Leyen appears to have restored a temporary sense of calm. The EU leader confirmed that Brussels is ready to engage quickly and decisively to reach a meaningful agreement, recalling that the United States and the EU share the most significant trade relationship in the world.
However, uncertainty still looms over how the negotiations will evolve in the coming weeks. The postponement is merely a temporary truce: if talks fail, Trump’s threats could become a reality with serious repercussions for the global economy.
