EU says it will fast-track tariff talks with U.S. after Trump threat
European Union officials said they would speed up trade talks with the United States on Monday, just days after President Donald Trump claimed the nations were dragging their feet in negotiations.
Paula Pinho, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, told reporters Monday that there was “new impetus” for the talks, which have been ongoing for weeks.
“They agreed both to fast-track the trade negotiations and to stay in close contact,” Pinho said. “It’s positive to see that there’s engagement also at the level of the presidents, and from our side, we always said that we were ready to make a deal.”
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the European Commissioner for trade, Maros Sefcovic, were set to speak Monday, she said.
On Sunday, Trump said he would delay tariffs set to be imposed on the European Union until July 9 after he spoke to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, who had asked for an extension so both sides could continue talking.
“We had a very nice call. And I agreed to move it,” Trump told reporters Sunday. Global markets appeared to rally Monday after Trump’s reversal.
In a post Sunday on X, von der Leyen said that it was a “good call” with Trump.
“Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively,” she said, but to reach a “good deal” the two sides need the extra time until the July 9 deadline.
In a social media post Friday, Trump had criticized European diplomats as being “very difficult to deal with” and said trade talks were “going nowhere!”
Trump had proposed a sweeping 50% tariff on European Union goods – a “straight 50% Tariff,” the president said Friday – set to be in place June 1 . The statement sent stocks plummeting.
Trump’s Friday statements – and subsequent pause – were the latest round in a series of back-and-forth moves on tariffs with countries around the globe, including close allies Canada and Mexico. Trump’s supporters defend his actions as strategic moves, but they have caused uncertainty among investors and financial markets.
Also on Friday, Trump threatened Apple in a post on social media with a 25% tariff on non-U.S.-made iPhones that could make the popular phones more expensive, experts said.
Early this month, the EU had released a list of $100 billion in U.S. products it could target if the talks with the U.S. broke down, including the aircraft industry and car parts. E.U. officials have offered a number of concessions in the ongoing talks, including increasing imports of U.S. natural gas and increasing cooperation on artificial intelligence, officials said.
Von der Leyen said at the time that there are “good deals to be made” on both sides of the Atlantic but that the 27-member union was preparing for all possibilities.