By Molly Claire Goddard
3:06am PDT, May 28, 2025
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Donald Trump made a major announcement about tariffs.
After the markets tumbled on Friday, May 23, due to the current president threatening 50 percent
duties on Europe starting on June 1, Trump announced he would be delaying the price hike for a few days.
Keep reading to learn why the U.S. leader pushed the implementation…MORE:
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On Sunday, May 25, Donald Trump took to X to announce his decision to delay the
tariffs after speaking with European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen.
"I received a call today from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, requesting an extension on the June 1st deadline on the 50% tariff with respect to trade and the European Union," he penned on the platform. "I agreed to the extension — July 9, 2025 — It was my privilege to do so. The Commission President said that talks will begin rapidly."
While speaking with the press on the tarmac on his way back to the White House, Trump added of his conversation with Leyen, "She asked for an extension on the June 1st date and she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation, because — I've told you specifically, I mean I've told anybody that would listen, they have to do that. And we had a very nice call and I agreed to move it."
"I believe June 9th would be — July 9th — would be the date," he explained. "That was the date she requested. Could we move it from June 1 to July 9? And I agreed to do that and that — she said, we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out."
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In response to Donald Trump's update, Ursula von der Leyen confirmed her positive phone call with the United States' commander-in-chief.
"Good call with @POTUS," the German politician wrote on
X in response to Trump's message. "The EU and US share the world's most consequential and close trade relationship. Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively. To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9."
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On Friday, May 23, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was already down 1 percent following Donald Trump's announcement of the new tariffs. The
S&P 500 shed 1.2 percent, while Nasdaq dropped by 1.5 percent.
The businessman's unpredictable duties have put investors into peril once again. "All the optimism over trade deals wiped out in minutes. Seconds, even," market analyst at StoneX
Fawad Razaqzada explained in an interview.
"The single most reliable economic fact of the Trump presidency is that when he raises tariffs, markets tank. When he backs off, they rise," Michigan economics professor
Justin Wolfers wrote on X.
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Donald Trump made it clear he would be looking to impose a 50 percent tariff on goods from the European Union if their trade negotiations didn't go his way.
"Their powerful trade barriers, vat taxes, ridiculous corporate penalties, non-monetary trade barriers, monetary manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans companies and more, have led to a trade deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable," he penned on Truth Social on May 23. "Our discussions with them are going nowhere!"
