Trump gives 4 July ultimatum to EU to approve trade deal with US

President Donald Trump has threatened "much higher" tariffs on the European Union (EU) by 4 July if the bloc fails to drop its levies on the US to zero.After a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump said the EU had signed a "historic trade deal" with the US and agreed to cut its tariffs."I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels," he wrote on social media.However, von der Leyen said the bloc was making "good progress towards tariff reduction" ahead of Trump's deadline."We remain fully committed, on both sides, to its implementation," she said on X.The trade deal was struck by von der Leyen and Trump in July last year, but progress on enacting it stumbled on Wednesday after talks between EU lawmakers and governments ended without an agreement.Under the agreement, US tariffs on exports from the EU would face a 15% tariff. Trump had threatened tariffs of 30% on European goods.The deal received conditional approval from the European Parliament in March, when a majority of lawmakers backed legislation to implement the agreement, but added several safeguards aimed at ensuring the US honoured its side of the pact.