US President Donald Trump on Sunday backed off his threat to impose 50% tariffs on EU imports, extending the deadline for trade talks to July 9 after the head of the EU Commission requested more time to secure a “good deal”.
Trump threatened on Friday to intensify his trade war after expressing frustrations that trade talks were not moving quickly enough, saying he wanted steep new import taxes to start on June 1. The threat roiled global markets.
EU Call Pacifies Trump
Trump relented after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told him during a phone call that the EU needed more time to come to an agreement and asked him to delay the tariffs until July 9, the deadline he had originally set when he announced new tariffs in April.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he had granted the request. He said that von der Leyen told him “we will rapidly get together to see if we can work something out”. Ursula von der Leyen said in a social media post that the EU was ready to move quickly in trade talks.
‘Good’ Phone Call
The EU leader said in a post on X on Sunday that she had a “good” phone call with Trump.
“The EU and US share the world’s most consequential and close trade relationship. Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively. To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9,” she said.
In early April, Trump had set a 90-day window for trade talks for the EU and the US which was to end on July 9.
Oil Climbs After Trump Announcement
Oil prices gained in early Asian trade on Monday after Trump’s announcement eased concerns about US tariffs on the bloc, that could hurt the global economy and fuel demand.
Brent crude futures rose 37 cents, or 0.6%, to $65.15 a barrel by 0001 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 34 cents, or 0.6%, at $61.87 a barrel.
(With inputs from Reuters)
