US President Donald Trump could extend a July deadline for higher tariffs on imports, the White House has said.

Mr Trump had set 9 July as the deadline after which punitive tariffs on a range of EU goods will take effect, with the EU promising some €95 billion in retaliatory countermeasures.

Asked if there were plans to further the pause, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “Perhaps it could be extended, but that’s a decision for the president to make.”

“The deadline is not critical,” she told a media briefing.

Ms Leavitt said the president could “simply provide these countries with a deal if they refuse to make us one by the deadline”.

He added that Mr Trump can “pick a reciprocal tariff rate that he believes is advantageous for the United States”.

On the progress of trade negotiations, Ms Leavitt said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is “working very hard” and has had “good and productive discussions with many of our key trading partners”.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had received the “latest US document” for further negotiations on tariffs.

“All options remain on the table,” she told reporters following a EU summit in Brussels

“We are assessing it…Our message today is clear. We are ready for a deal. At the same time, we are preparing for the possibility that no satisfactory agreement is reached. This is why we consulted on the rebalancing list and we will defend the European interest as needed,” Ms von der Leyen said.

Taoiseach: Strong appetite at EU level for US trade deal

It comes as Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said there is a strong appetite at EU level for a trade deal with the United States.

At a summit of EU leaders in Brussels, Mr Martin said: “Everybody within the European Union is focused on arriving at a negotiated settlement with the United States by the ninth of July, which I think is extremely important to give certainty to markets, certainty to investors, certainty to workers and industry.

“Every effort has to be made to get a landing zone that we can live with. It’s not ideal. It’s not optimal. Europe doesn’t want tariffs, but we have to deal with the situation that is before us.”

Ireland has sought to remove agrifood products, medtech and aviation from the EU’s list of countermeasures, in order to protect important sectors to the Irish economy and to avoid provoking further US retaliation.

The Taoiseach said: “There is no painless tariff war. Obviously, we have made a response to any retaliatory list. Europe has to be united going into these negotiations, and as these negotiations come to a conclusion, but I do genuinely detect an atmosphere that’s focused on getting a deal, both on the US side and on the European Union side.”

EU diplomats have said a growing number of EU countries now favoured a quick resolution.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that France wants a quick and pragmatic trade deal with the US but that his country would not accept terms that were unbalanced.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever said: “A trade war makes both sides of the Atlantic poorer and is just stupid. So I support the approach of the commission president, who always keeps calm and has negotiated for a result.”

“If that were to end in one-sided and unfair tariffs then we have to take proportionate and very targeted countermeasures.”

The EU is already facing US import tariffs of 50% on its steel and aluminium, 25% for cars and car parts, along with a10% tariff on most other EU goods, which Mr Trump has threatened could rise to 50% without an agreement.

The United States’ only completed trade deal to date is with Britain, with the broad 10% tariff still in place.

“There is a group of EU countries that want to protect companies by seemingly accepting something they have gotten used to – a 10% baseline,” one EU diplomat said.

The European Union has agreed, but not imposed, tariffs on €21 billion of US goods and is debating a further package of tariffs on up to €95 billion of US imports.

Among the EU rebalancing options is a tax on digital advertising, which would hit US giants like Google, Meta, Apple, X or Microsoft and eat into the trade surplus in services the US has with the EU.

The bloc has a trade surplus with the US in goods.

The commission has proposed an EU-US deal to cut respective tariffs on industrial goods to zero, along with potential further EU purchases of liquefied natural gas and soybeans.

Washington has shown little obvious interest, preferring to highlight items it considers as barriers, such as EU value-added tax, environmental standards and rules on online platforms, on which the EU does not want to move.

Article Source – July deadline for higher tariffs may be extended – White House

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