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US President Donald Trump has decided not to impose a 50% duty on goods from the European Union from 1 June, agreeing to the request of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to postpone the decision until 9 July. He wrote about this on Truth Social
As early as Friday, Trump threatened to take tough action because of the slow progress in the negotiations, which caused serious fluctuations in global financial markets and a new round of tension in the trade war. However, on Sunday, after a telephone conversation with von der Leyen, he changed his position:
“We had a very nice conversation and agreed to postpone the tariffs. She said we will meet quickly and see if we can make progress,” Trump told reporters before returning to Washington.
The President of the European Commission confirmed the conversation on social network X, saying:
“Europe is ready to move forward quickly and decisively in the negotiations. We have until 9 July to reach a good agreement.”
Trump has repeatedly criticised the EU for “unfair trade terms” and promoted an “America First” policy. Despite agreements with the UK and active negotiations with China, there has been little progress with the EU. Washington’s dissatisfaction is also exacerbated by Europe’s dependence on the United States for defence.
The introduction of the duties announced in April has already caused serious currency fluctuations: the euro and dollar have risen against the yen and franc, which are the “safe havens”. However, the new phase of the dialogue opens up space for market stabilisation.
