EU countries push for swift trade deal with Donald Trump

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Several EU governments have signalled they want a quick deal with the US to head off Donald Trump’s threat of 50 per cent tariffs on the bloc, urging the European Commission to keep talking to Washington rather than taking the path of confrontation.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke to commission president Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend, calling on her to resolve differences with Trump through negotiations, according to Italian officials.

The Brussels body added that the Italian leader was one of several EU leaders who spoke to the commission president after Trump’s announcement on Friday of his plans for the increased tariffs.

Von der Leyen then persuaded the US president to delay the increased levies by more than a month to July 9 in a phone call on Sunday.

France, Spain, Ireland and Belgium have also welcomed the bid to accelerate talks and avoid escalation of the transatlantic trade war.

Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network he had been told by von der Leyen that “talks will begin rapidly”. He added that it was his “privilege” to delay the increased tariffs from the previous date of June 1.

Meloni, who has established a rapport with both Trump and von der Leyen, has also proposed a summit between leaders of the big EU economies, top commission officials and the US president next month to defuse tensions.

Trump is due to visit the Netherlands for the Nato summit on June 24-25, a trip that could provide an opportunity for further face-to-face talks.

In comments on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the “good exchange” between Trump and the commission president. “I hope we can continue on this road and return to the lowest possible tariffs that will allow for fruitful exchanges,” he told reporters on a visit to Vietnam.

José Manuel Albares, Spain’s foreign minister, added that the phone call meant talks were going in the “right direction”, while his Irish counterpart Simon Harris, whose country’s pharmaceutical industry is exposed to potential new US tariffs, called for a deal to “protect jobs and investment”. 

Belgium, whose relatively small economy is reliant on exports, also welcomed von der Leyen’s “constructive” approach.

Von der Leyen’s spokeswoman Paula Pinho said that the commission president and Trump had agreed to “fast-track” talks, with a second call in four days between their two lead negotiators on Monday.

EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is scheduled to speak to Howard Lutnick, commerce secretary.

While the commission conducts trade policy, Pinho said von der Leyen was in “regular contact” with EU leaders to seek their views. The commission president made no mention of defending EU interests, a line used by Šefčovič after he has talked to US counterparts. 

Member states have approved a €21bn package of up to 50 per cent tariffs on US goods such as maize, wheat, motorcycles and clothing, which will kick in on July 14 without a deal. The commission is also consulting member states on a €95bn list of other targets, including Boeing aircraft, cars and bourbon whiskey.

When Trump made his threat of 50 per cent tariffs on EU imports on Friday he said the bloc had not made enough progress responding to US demands to cut its trade surplus.

He originally announced 20 per cent on EU imports on April 2, his self-styled “liberation day”, but halved them later that same month for the duration of a 90-day negotiation period due to end on July 9.

Additional reporting by Laura Dubois in Brussels