‘Quickly establish meeting dates’: Trump claims EU has given into 50% tariff threats

Politico found that President Trump later announced on Truth Social that he had achieved a major win. He said the tariff threat had forced the E.U. to agree to “set up meeting dates quickly” to speed up negotiations. He essentially strong-armed the E.U. into giving in to his requests.

Trump said, “I 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… I have just been informed that the E.U. has called to quickly establish meeting dates. This 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.”

Trump’s threats to EU ended up working

The dispute started when President Trump threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on all European goods, blaming slow movement in ongoing trade discussions. This extreme step was viewed as a major escalation in the already strained relationship, with the President openly criticizing the speed of negotiations and clearly demanding more compromises from the E.U. President Trump described this move as a needed strategy to push the E.U. to take negotiations more seriously.

The E.U., however, responded to this aggressive approach with both frustration and worry. European leaders had repeatedly shared their dissatisfaction with what they saw as a lack of fair engagement from the US. They argued that Washington was mainly interested in getting one-sided concessions rather than working toward agreements that would benefit both sides.

This disagreement in approach became a major obstacle, blocking progress for months and raising the threat of serious economic harm for both the US and the E.U.

At first, the 50 percent tariff was supposed to start on June 1st. But after a phone call between President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the tariff was temporarily delayed. The European Commission called the conversation a “new push” for negotiations, and as a result, the tariff was postponed until July 9th. Though this delay was small, it was seen as a possible sign of improvement and a readiness from both sides to keep talking.

These events show how complicated the trade relationship between the US and the E.U. remains. The E.U.’s decision to move faster with talks after the tariff threat suggests an awareness of the possible economic damage from a worsening trade war and a wish to find a solution through stronger diplomacy. While the details of what was agreed during the phone call are still mostly unknown, the decision to keep negotiating indicates a shift in momentum. This situation demonstrates how powerful trade policies can be in international relations and how much influence tariffs can have, especially when used against major trading partners like the E.U. and the US. The long-term effects on US-EU trade relations are still unclear, but this incident highlights the high risks and potential for sudden changes in diplomatic tactics when it comes to global trade.