President Donald Trump on Sunday paused the implementation of 50% tariffs on goods from the European Union until July 9.
The new agreement came after a call with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, who told Trump that she “wants to get down to serious negotiations,” The Associated Press reported.
On Friday, Trump posted on social media that the EU had been “very difficult to deal with” and recommended a 50% tariff starting June 1.
“The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with. Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable,” Trump said.
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The Trump administration imposed a 20% “reciprocal” tariff on most EU goods on April 2 but later paused the levy until July 8 to allow time for negotiations. The EU and all other countries still have a 10% baseline duty on all exported goods to the U.S.
The White House is also still maintaining 25% import taxes on steel, aluminium and vehicle parts and is threatening similar action on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and other goods from the EU.
Trump also said Friday he would impose a 25% tariff on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) unless it shifts some iPhone production to the U.S.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump said on social media.
As of Friday, Apple had declined to comment on Trump’s post.
The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Apple was finalizing plans for a $1.5 billion iPhone component production center in India.
