USA Trump sets deadline for implementation of customs deal and threatens EU
In the customs dispute with the European Union, US President Donald Trump has set a deadline for the implementation of the trade agreement. If the EU does not fulfill its part of the agreement by the USA's birthday - July 4 - the tariffs would "unfortunately go up immediately to a much higher level", Trump announced on his Truth Social platform.
07.05.2026, 21:43
SDA
The president had "waited patiently" for the EU to fulfill its part of the trade agreement. "It was promised that the EU would fulfill its part of the agreement and reduce its tariffs to ZERO according to the agreement!" According to Trump, his latest threat was preceded by a "very good conversation" with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
What Trump had previously threatened
Last week, Trump had already accused the EU of not fully complying with the negotiated tariff deal. In response, he announced that he would increase tariffs on cars and trucks imported from the EU to the USA from 15% to 25% as early as this week. Such tariff increases would hit Germany in particular.
In his post, Trump did not go into detail about which tariffs he intends to increase from the summer if the trade agreement is not ratified by then. An inquiry by Deutsche Presse-Agentur to the White House as to whether the recently threatened increase in tariffs on imports of cars and trucks would now be off the table by the new deadline initially went unanswered.
What the EU and the USA had agreed
In mid-August 2025, Trump and von der Leyen reached a framework agreement on a 15 percent tariff cap on most EU goods imported into the USA. The rate was also to apply to European cars and car parts. In return, the EU undertook to remove tariffs on US industrial goods and to facilitate market access for US agricultural products such as pork and dairy products.
Under the August trade agreement, the 15 percent tariff cap applies to cars, light trucks and auto parts imported into the US from the EU, according to the US Federal Register. Medium and heavy trucks are generally subject to a 25 percent tariff.
However, further tariff threats from Trump in the Greenland conflict and uncertainty following a court ruling that declared many US tariffs illegal had slowed down the implementation of the tariff deal. The European Parliament announced in March that it wanted to attach strict conditions to the further implementation of the agreement with the USA. The majority of MEPs were in favor of this. The member states still have to approve the corresponding regulations for implementation. The EU has recently expressed cautious optimism that an agreement with the USA will be reached soon.
