US President Donald Trump said he would give the European Union until July 4 to ratify a trade deal with the US after threatening to raise tariffs on car imports earlier this week if it did not do so.
Trump said Thursday he set the new deadline after speaking with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He has threatened to raise tariffs on the bloc’s goods if the pact is not completed by the summer.
“I have agreed to give it by our country’s 250th birthday, or unfortunately their tariffs will immediately jump to a much higher level,” the US president wrote on social media.
Von der Leyen said “both sides” remain “fully committed” to implementing the deal.
“Good progress has been made towards reducing tariffs by the beginning of July,” she said on social media.
The automaker’s shares, which slipped last week after Trump’s threat, reacted quietly to the new announcement. U.S. shares of Stellantis NV fell 2.5% in New York trading on Thursday after initially paring the decline on the president’s post. Volkswagen AG American depositary receipts were little changed.
The announcement came after the EU failed to finalize its long-delayed trade deal during overnight talks, despite Trump’s earlier threat to raise tariffs on European cars to 25% from 15%. The president accused the bloc of not moving fast enough to implement the agreement, which was reached in July 2025.
“I have been patiently waiting for the EU to live up to their side of the historic trade deal,” he wrote.
As part of the US-EU trade pact, the bloc agreed to eliminate tariffs on US manufactured goods in exchange for a 15% tariff cap on most European products.
The move represents the latest shift in Trump’s evolving trade policy, as he uses the specter of tariffs to pressure other economies to offer concessions. Some of these threats have been followed by a quick retreat due to problems with the implementation of the levies, economic concerns about them or efforts by US trading partners to respond to Trump’s objections.
A Supreme Court decision earlier this year striking down Trump’s previous tariff regime forced the administration to reimpose many of those fees using various agencies, although its ability to tax auto imports using executive powers was unaffected.
Negotiators from the European Parliament and EU member states discussed possible amendments to the transatlantic deal on Wednesday night, but no conclusive decisions were made, according to Cyprus, which holds the EU presidency. Negotiations will continue in the coming weeks.
Officials are “committed to acting quickly,” Cyprus Energy Minister Michael Damianos said in a statement.
