President Donald Trump has given the European Union (EU) until US Independence Day to come to an agreement with the trade deal. If no agreement is reached, he warned that he could impose “much higher” tariffs on European goods. The deadline comes after EU negotiators failed to reach a trade deal with the US despite six hours of talks.
Donald Trump threatens EU with ‘higher tariffs’
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen revealed that she got on a call with Trump, who has given a deadline till Independence Day on July 4, 2026, to make a decision around tariffs. He threatened the bloc with “higher tariffs” on their country’s goods if they don’t come to an agreement with the trade deal before the deadline.
Trump has warned that he will impose 30% tariffs on European goods if the bloc fails to comply. While there’s less than two months for Trump’s deadline to end, Leyen revealed that they have made “good progress towards tariff reduction” (via BBC).
This deadline followed the stalled talks between the US and EU negotiators, who discussed for 6 hours but still couldn’t reach an ultimate conclusion. MEP Karin Karlsbro for the centrist Renew Europe group in the European Parliament detailed the talks. “Good and constructive negotiations this evening with the Council and the Commission. It is important that we get a Trump-proof agreement in place before we have a final deal,” he said (via Politico).
Earlier, German MEP Bernd Lange, from the EU Parliament’s international trade committee chair, criticized the US for its threats to increase tariffs on automobiles coming to the state. He said, “This latest move demonstrates just how unreliable the US side is. This is no way to treat close partners. Now we can only respond with the utmost clarity and firmness, drawing on the strength of our position” (via The Guardian).
Originally reported by Shazmeen Navrange on Mandatory.
