On 7/5, US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he "is still patiently waiting for the EU to fulfill its part of the historic trade agreement" reached last July.
"The EU committed to reducing their import tariffs to 0%. I am giving them until America's Independence Day, otherwise, import tariffs on them will immediately jump to much higher levels," he wrote. This announcement followed "a great phone call" with European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen.
 |
President Donald Trump shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in Turnberry, Scotland in 7/2025. *Photo: Reuters*
Last weekend, Trump indicated he would raise import tariffs on European Union (EU) automobiles from 15% to 25% due to the bloc's non-compliance with the trade agreement. The deal mandates the EU to reduce tariffs to 0% on US industrial goods and apply duty-free quotas on some US agricultural and seafood products. However, the process of passing legislation to implement this agreement in the European Parliament (EP) is slow.
In a post on X, Von der Leyen also stated she discussed the trade agreement and Iran with Trump. "We remain committed to fully implementing our obligations. The process towards tariff reduction before July is progressing well," she wrote.
Bernd Lange, Chairman of the European Parliament's Trade Committee, said that EU parliamentarians and governments are making progress in finalizing the agreement to eliminate import tariffs on US goods. However, he noted "there is still a long way to go" due to disagreements over safeguard measures requested by some member states within the bloc.
Some EU parliamentarians want to add stronger safeguard measures, including suspending the agreement if the US fails to comply, only reducing tariffs when the US takes corresponding action, and completely ending EU tariff concessions by 31/3/2028.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer emphasized that the deadline for the EU to implement the agreement "is long past," implying the US could take other measures beyond raising automobile tariffs if the EU fails to comply. "Automobiles are just one part of it. There are many other issues where the US has remained fully compliant, contrary to Europe for many months," Greer told Bloomberg Television.
Ha Thu (according to Reuters)
