News blog about US politics
Trump sets a new deadline for the EU in the customs dispute
Updated May 7, 2026 – 9:41 p.mReading time: 9 minutes
Trump threatens the EU. The White House spokeswoman shows the world her newborn child. All developments in the news blog.
In the customs dispute with the European Union, US President Donald Trump sets 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 4th – the tariffs would “unfortunately immediately rise to a much higher level,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. He was “patiently waiting” 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, according to the agreement, reduce its tariffs to ZERO!”
According to his own statements, Trump’s latest threat was preceded by a “very good conversation” with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Last week, Trump announced that he wanted to increase tariffs on cars and trucks imported into the US from the EU from 15 to 25 percent. He justified this with the accusation that the EU was not sticking to the agreed trade agreement. The tariff increases would particularly affect Germany.
The EU, on the other hand, insists on compliance with an agreement from last year. “A deal is a deal,” von der Leyen said on Tuesday. Regardless of the ongoing negotiations, the EU is “prepared for all scenarios”. The Commission has a list of counter-tariffs in its drawer that the EU states had prepared during the customs dispute last year, but which was never used. If the conflict escalates, action against US service providers and digital companies is also conceivable.
The US government of President Donald Trump has imposed new sanctions against the powerful Cuban military and economic group “GAESA” as well as other actors in the communist leadership in Cuba. The US State Department said the aim of the measures was to deprive Cuba’s military leadership and elites of access to assets.
The “GAESA” (Grupo de Administración Empresarial SA) group of companies is considered the economic arm of the Cuban military. According to estimates by experts in US media reports, “GAESA” controls at least 40 percent of the Cuban economy and key sectors such as tourism, financial services, retail, port logistics and imports.
