EU trade negotiator says calls with US officials were ‘good’ after Trump extends tariff deadline
May 26, 2025, 1:27 PM
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives for the weekly college of commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Omar Havana)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) 鈥� The European Union’s chief trade negotiator said Monday he had 鈥済ood calls鈥� with Trump administration officials and the EU was 鈥渇ully committed鈥� to reaching a trade deal by a July 9 deadline, after Trump agreed to delay his threatened 50% tariff 鈥� or import tax 鈥� on European goods.
Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on X that the EU’s executive commission was pushing 鈥渁t pace鈥� towards an EU-U.S. deal and the two sides were in constant contact.
Sefcovic’s calls with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer came a day after Trump said he would delay implementation of the 50% tariff from June 1 until July 9 to buy time for negotiations with the 27-country EU.
That announcement came after Trump’s call with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who told Trump that she 鈥渨ants to get down to serious negotiations,鈥� according to the U.S. president on Sunday.
In a social media post Friday, Trump had threatened to impose the 50% tariff on EU goods, asserting that the bloc had been 鈥渧ery difficult to deal with鈥� on trade and that negotiations were 鈥済oing nowhere.鈥�
The stakes are high given the size of the U.S.-EU trading relationship. Although the trade partners don’t have a free trade agreement like the one the U.S. has with Mexico and Canada, some $1.8 trillion in goods and services cross the Atlantic in both directions each year.
EU Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho told a news conference that von der Leyen and Trump agreed to 鈥渇ast-track鈥� the negotiations. The result of the call means that 鈥渢here is a new impetus for these negotiations, and we will take it from there … from our side, we always said we were ready to make a deal.鈥�
The EU has offered Trump a 鈥渮ero for zero鈥� deal in which tariffs would be removed on industrial goods including automobiles, but the U.S. administration has said it will not lower tariffs below a 10% baseline imposed on almost all its trading partners. Trump has also announced tariffs of 25% on steel and automobiles.
