Trump Gives EU July 4 Deadline to Implement Trade Deal or Face Higher Tariffs
US President Donald Trump has given the European Union until July 4 to fully implement its trade agreement with Washington or face significantly higher tariffs on European goods.
Trump announced the deadline on Thursday after a phone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, temporarily easing fears of an immediate increase in tariffs on EU-made vehicles.
Last week, Trump threatened to raise tariffs on European cars from 15% to 25%, accusing the bloc of delaying its commitments under the trade pact reached in Turnberry, Scotland.
In a social media post, Trump said he had “waited patiently” for the EU to fulfil its obligations, including reducing tariffs on US products to zero as agreed under the deal.
“I agreed to give her until our country’s 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels,” Trump stated, referring to the July 4 Independence Day celebrations in the United States.
Under the agreement reached last summer, the EU committed to cutting remaining tariffs on American goods, while the US maintained a broad 15% tariff on most EU exports to avoid additional duties.
However, implementation of the deal has been slowed by ongoing negotiations between the European Parliament and EU member states over legislation required to formalise the tariff reductions.
Lawmakers are pushing for safeguards that would protect the bloc if the US breaches the agreement or threatens EU territory, following Trump’s earlier remarks about potentially taking control of Greenland from Denmark.
Some EU member states want the original agreement implemented without additional conditions to avoid worsening trade tensions with Washington.
Trump’s latest tariff threat has strengthened criticism among European lawmakers who fear the US could demand further concessions after implementation. The White House has repeatedly criticised EU digital and environmental regulations and called for their removal.
Von der Leyen, in her own statement after the call, expressed optimism that the legislation would be approved before the July deadline.
“We remain fully committed, on both sides, to its implementation. Good progress is being made towards tariff reduction by early July,” she said.
Earlier this week, the European Commission chief insisted that “a deal is a deal” and warned that the EU was prepared for all possible scenarios if Washington escalated the dispute.
Thursday’s call, which Trump described as “great,” appeared to calm tensions between both sides for now, as many officials in Brussels had doubted the threatened 25% tariffs would be enforced.
The two leaders also discussed the Middle East crisis and agreed that Iran should never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.
“We are completely united that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said after the conversation.
