Customs duties: Donald Trump sets a deadline for the EU to implement the trade agreement with the United States

A few days after threatening the European Union with new customs duties on cars and trucks exported to the United States, Donald Trump said he had “agreed to a deadline” with the Twenty-Seven before implementing these duties. Following a phone call, which he described as “excellent,” with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the American president wrote on his Truth Social network that the EU had until July 4th to “honor its commitments” made in the trade agreement signed last summer in Turnberry, Scotland.

Past this deadline, the customs duties imposed by Washington on EU countries would “immediately soar to much higher levels,” he assured.

For her part, Ursula von der Leyen reassured on social media, emphasizing that “significant progress has been made towards reducing customs duties, by early July.” “We remain fully committed, from both sides, to its implementation,” she added, calling the call “very good.”

Approved, but not yet applied

In late March, the European Parliament did approve this trade agreement between the United States and the EU, but the internal procedures of the Twenty-Seven involve negotiations with the member states before it is formally applied. In the meantime, the European bloc is “implementing the commitments made” with Washington, “in accordance with usual legislative practices, keeping the American government fully informed throughout the process,” stated the EU delegation in Washington on May 1st. They also added that if the United States did not meet their part of the agreement, the EU would “keep all options open to protect its interests.”

By approving this agreement, Members of the European Parliament indeed included various safeguards, suspensive conditions, and even an extinction clause (set in March 2028) to denounce the imbalance of this agreement and show extreme distrust towards the American president.

With AFP