US President Donald Trump has given the European Union until 4 July — the 250th anniversary of American independence — to finalise last year's trade agreement or face "much higher" tariffs, escalating pressure on the bloc as negotiations between EU lawmakers and member states continue to stall.
Trump announced the deadline in a post on his Truth Social platform following what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during which the two leaders also discussed the situation in Iran. "I've been waiting patiently for the EU to fulfill their side of the Historic Trade Deal we agreed in Turnberry, Scotland," Trump wrote, referring to the agreement reached last July at his luxury golf resort in Scotland. "A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Von der Leyen acknowledged the conversation, saying the two sides had made "good progress towards tariff reduction" and that both remained "fully committed" to the deal's implementation.
The original framework, struck last July, set US tariffs on most EU goods at 15%, down from a threatened 30%. The deal cleared the European Parliament in March with conditional approval — lawmakers backed it but added safeguards, including a demand that European steel and aluminium products be excluded from Trump's 50% sector tariffs on those metals. However, the agreement still requires endorsement from all 27 EU member states before it can take effect. Talks between parliamentarians and national governments broke down this week without a deal, though another round of negotiations is scheduled for 19 May in Strasbourg, France.
The situation has been further complicated by US legal setbacks. In February, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing sweeping emergency tariffs — the original mechanism used to pressure the EU into negotiations. The administration has since applied a temporary 10% global tariff under a different legal provision, though on Thursday a US trade court ruled that levy was also not legally justified, at least for the importers named in the case, potentially opening the door to broader challenges. The Thursday deadline announcement also appeared to walk back Trump's threat from last Friday to raise tariffs specifically on EU cars and trucks to 25%, offering Brussels several additional weeks to reach agreement.
The standoff matters well beyond transatlantic trade. The EU is the United States' largest trading partner, and a breakdown in negotiations could disrupt supply chains across sectors from automotive manufacturing to agriculture. With Trump now tying the deal to a symbolically charged national holiday and geopolitical tensions over Iran also in play, the coming weeks will test both the EU's ability to move quickly through its complex ratification process and the durability of the fragile trade framework the two sides negotiated less than a year ago.