Trump's deadline to the European Union came as a trade court ruled his global tariff policy violated US law.
10 hours ago
Rachel ClunBusiness reporter
Reuters
President Donald Trump has threatened "much higher" tariffs on the European Union (EU) by 4 July if the bloc fails to drop its levies on the US to zero.
After a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump said he agreed to give her until "our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels".
However, von der Leyen said the bloc was making "good progress towards tariff reduction" ahead of Trump's deadline.
Hours after the threat, a US trade court ruled Trump's latest 10% global tariffs were not justified under US trade law, which could allow future court challenges.
A trade deal was struck by von der Leyen and Trump in July last year, but progress on enacting it stumbled on Wednesday after talks between EU lawmakers and governments ended without an agreement.
"We remain fully committed, on both sides, to its implementation," von der Leyen said on X on Thursday.
Under the agreement, US tariffs on exports from the EU would face a 15% tariff. Trump had threatened tariffs of 30% on European goods.
The deal received conditional approval from the European Parliament in March, when a majority of lawmakers backed legislation to implement the agreement, but added several safeguards aimed at ensuring the US honoured its side of the pact.
Parliamentarians voted they would only accept zero tariffs on US goods if European goods made with steel and aluminium were excluded from Trump's global 50% tariff on those metal products.
Despite the progress through parliament, the deal also requires endorsement by the 27 member states.
Earlier on Thursday, before Trump's social media statement, the European Parliament's chief negotiator Bernd Lagne said lawmakers and governments were making good progress on the negotiations but added "there is still some way to go".
The negotiators are set to meet for another round of talks on 19 May in Strasbourg.
"We remain more committed than ever to advance and defend Parliament's mandate so as to provide additional guarantees that will benefit citizens and companies in both the EU and the US," Lange said in a statement.
The original agreement on tariffs and trade was reached after the US President finished a round of golf at his luxury resort in Turnberry, Scotland.
As negotiations over trade and tariff deals continue, the president has had difficulty getting his broader tariff decisions to stick legally.
On Thursday, a US trade court ruled Trump's latest 10% global tariffs were not justified under US trade law.
Trump had introduced the sweeping levy on 24 February after the US Supreme Court decision struck down his so-called "freedom day" tariffs imposed last year.
The president had invoked Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act which allows temporary duties to be imposed to correct serious "balance of payments deficits" when introducing the new tariff. The 10% levy is set to last until late July.
On Thursday, the US Court of International Trade ruled that law was not an appropriate step for the deficits cited by the president.
However, the ruling does not block the 10% tariffs universally. The judgement applies to importer tariffs for two companies, but paves the way for further court challenges.
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