Trump sets July 4 deadline for EU to comply with trade deal or face 'much higher' tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would give the European Union until July 4 to implement trade deal commitments before he raises tariffs on EU goods including cars to "much higher levels."

Trump said in a Truth Social post that he issued the new deadline during a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in which the two leaders also agreed that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon.

In a surprise move, Trump last Friday announced that he would raise tariffs on EU vehicles to 25% from the previously agreed 15% because the EU was not complying with the terms of a deal struck in Scotland last July.

The deal called for the EU to cut its tariffs on U.S. industrial goods to zero and provide duty-free quotas on certain American farm and sea produce, but the implementing legislation has been slow to move through the European Parliament.

"I’ve been waiting patiently for the EU to fulfill their side of the Historic Trade Deal we agreed in Turnberry, Scotland, the largest Trade Deal, ever!" Trump said.

"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO! I agreed to give her until our Country’s 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels," he said, referring to the U.S. July 4 Independence Day celebration.

Von der Leyen said in a post on X that she discussed the trade deal with Trump and agreed with him that Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon.

"We also discussed the EU–U.S. trade deal. We remain fully committed, on both sides, to its implementation. Good progress is being made towards tariff reduction by early July," von der Leyen said.

'SOME WAY TO GO'

The European Parliament's trade committee chair, Bernd Lange, said on Thursday that EU lawmakers and governments are making progress to finalize a deal to scrap duties on U.S. goods, but "there is still some way to go" amid divisions over safeguards sought by some of the bloc's 27 countries.

The EU negotiators will meet again on May 19 for the next round of talks.

Some EU lawmakers want tougher safeguards in the implementing legislation, including suspending the deal if the U.S. fails to comply, making tariff cuts conditional on U.S. action, and ending EU tariff concessions entirely on March 31, 2028.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday that the EU's implementation was "already past due," and suggested that there could be other actions besides an auto tariff increase if the EU did not come into compliance.

"The autos is just one element," Greer told Bloomberg Television. "There are other elements to the deal where the United States remains in full compliance in contrast to where the Europeans have been for many months."

-David Lawder and Daphne Psaledakis/Reuters