President Donald Trump recommended the implementation of a 50% tariff on imports from the European Union starting June 1 on Friday. According to Reuters, he backed away from that threat on Sunday and restored the initial July 9 to allow for talks between D.C. and the EU to produce a trade deal.
Bloomberg reported that the EU sent new proposals to the United States in an effort to advance trade negotiations pertaining to currently paused reciprocal tariffs on the bloc.
“Our discussions with them are going nowhere,” Trump said Friday, while calling out trade barriers like value-added taxes as a driver of a “totally unacceptable” trade deficit between the U.S. and the EU.
In 2024, the U.S. had a trade deficit of $236 billion with the EU, per data from the United States International Trade Commission.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he had a “very nice call” with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen adding, “She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out.”
Sources: NAFB News Service & Reuters
