Donald Trump says he will postpone 50% tariffs on EU until July

Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the US from the EU until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.

It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to "reach a good deal".

The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.

But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.

Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she "wants to get down to serious negotiations" and she vowed to "rapidly get together and see if we can work something out".

'We had a very nice call'

The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were "going nowhere" and the bloc was "very difficult to deal with".

Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen "just called me... and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation".

"We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out," the US president added.

Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: "I agreed to the extension - July 9, 2025 - It was my privilege to do so."

The EU has responded 'in a fairly modest and sensible way'

The European Union has been engaging "sensibly" with the US administration, the Irish premier has said following the decision to pause the tariffs.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has welcomed Mr Trump's decision to delay the tariffs.

Speaking at the Global Economic Summit in Killarney, Co Kerry, on Monday, Mr Martin said: "I do believe that the European Union has been engaging sensibly on this.

"I do believe the US side is anxious to get a deal on this that's sustainable, too.

"The US have issues that they want resolved through this negotiation."

Mr Martin added that "all of the indications" are that the US wants a deal with the EU, and he said that Europe has responded "in a fairly modest and sensible way".

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He went on: "I think everybody so far appreciates the European Union's approach in terms of not overreacting to various announcements and to various decisions, but rather to focus on a negotiating resolution to this.

"Tariffs are not good for our economy. They're not good for the world economy. They're not good for consumers.

"It's absolutely important that we can get a realistic and reasonable deal between Europe and the United States to help consumers, to help citizens across the world."

Where has this row come from?

On his so-called "liberation day" last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America's trade partners. But since then he's backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.

Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.

Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said earlier: "EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.

"We stand ready to defend our interests."

(c) Sky News 2025: Donald Trump says he will postpone 50% tariffs on EU until July