Trump Backs Away From June 1 Threat for EU Exports
President Donald Trump, after speaking to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on May 25, said it would be his "privilege" to give talks between the EU and the U.S. the same runway as other talks to avoid a hike in reciprocal tariffs.
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Now, the EU, like all other countries, has until July 9 to avoid a hike in tariffs, though it is under the gun to avoid 50% tariffs, not the 20% announced on "Liberation Day." Trump had said May 23 that European goods would face a 50% tariff on June 1 (see 2505230002).
The lead trade negotiator for the EU, Maros Sefcovic, tweeted on May 26 that he had a good call with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the U.S. trade representative, and said the EU is committed to reaching a deal quickly. "We continue to stay in constant contact," he wrote.
Euronews reported that the EU trade spokesperson said that the EU is still ready to eliminate tariffs on all industrial goods if the U.S. is willing to do the same. "We believe that’s a very attractive starting point for a good negotiation that could lead to benefits on both sides of the Atlantic," Olof Gill said.
The U.S. has imposed 25% tariffs on imported autos and auto parts, steel and aluminum, and, in its deal with the U.K., it only removed or reduced those tariffs under a tariff-rate-quota system. It also kept 10% tariffs on other manufactured goods.
On May 27, Trump posted on social media that he "was extremely satisfied with the 50% Tariff allotment on the European Union, especially since they were slow walking (to put it mildly!), our negotiations with them."
He said the fact that the EU has quickly established negotiating sessions "is a positive event, and I hope that they will, FINALLY, like my same demand to China, open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of America. They will BOTH be very happy, and successful, if they do!!!"
In addition to addressing trade with the EU, Trump spoke to reporters on Air Force One about what kind of manufacturing the tariffs are designed to support. He said, "I’m not looking to make T-shirts, to be honest. I’m not looking to make socks. We can do that very well in other locations. We are looking to do chips and computers and lots of other things, and tanks and ships."
The American Apparel and Footwear Association reacted to the comments by writing, "We agree that we can’t tariff our way to scale up Made in US clothing …," and it noted that garments and shoes face higher tariffs than any other industrial products. "More tariffs won’t bring back more production, they will only make our wardrobe more expensive. It’s time to shrink fashion tariffs!"