Trump gives EU until Jul 4 to ratify trade deal with US or face ‘much higher’ tariffs

[WASHINGTON] President Donald Trump said he would give the European Union until Jul 4 to ratify its trade agreement with the US, after previously threatening to hike tariffs on auto imports as soon as this week if it failed to do so.

Trump said on Thursday (May 8) he set the new deadline after speaking with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He threatened to hike duties on the bloc’s goods if it did not finalise the pact by summer.

“I agreed to give her until our country’s 250th birthday or, unfortunately, their tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels,” the US president posted on social media.

Markets had a muted reaction to the new announcement. US shares of automaker Stellantis pared earlier declines on Trump’s post and were down 1.8 per cent at 3.12 pm in New York. US depositary receipts of Volkswagen were little changed.

The announcement came after the EU failed to finalise its long-delayed trade deal during overnight talks, despite Trump’s prior threat to raise tariffs on European automobiles to 25 per cent. BLOOMBERG