Trump's sudden heavy news! Trump "changes face" again on EU tariff negotiations, gold prices plummet, and US stock futures surge

On Sunday (May 25), local time, U.S. President Donald Trump announced after a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that he would extend the deadline for the European Union to face a 50% tariff until July 9. This news boosted market risk appetite, causing spot gold prices to plunge early Monday in Asia, while U.S. stock futures surged rapidly.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Trump told reporters on his way back to Washington on Sunday: "We had a very pleasant call, and I agreed to postpone the deadline."

Von der Leyen stated on social media on Sunday that she had a "good call" with Trump and promised that the EU would quickly push for a trade agreement with Washington. She wrote: "The EU and the U.S. have the most important and closest trade relationship in the world."

Von der Leyen said, "Europe is ready to move forward with negotiations quickly and decisively," but "reaching a good agreement takes time, until July 9." That is the deadline for Trump's suspension of the so-called reciprocal tariffs for 90 days.

Von der Leyen's office confirmed that she initiated the contact. This discussion is the first publicly disclosed call between the two leaders since Trump took office.

Trump's external economic advisor Stephen Moore said that von der Leyen's latest statement is a "hopeful sign" that the EU is "ready to negotiate."

The EU originally faced a 20% reciprocal tariff, but Trump announced in April that he would suspend the imposition of reciprocal tariffs until July 9, giving the EU time to negotiate with the U.S. However, Trump suddenly increased pressure last Friday, criticizing the negotiations with the EU as "making no progress," and reiterated that the EU was taking advantage of the U.S., threatening to impose a 50% tariff on all EU products exported to the U.S. starting June 1.

The EU has struggled to understand what Trump is seeking in trade negotiations. EU officials have suggested that the EU and the U.S. could reduce tariffs to zero on many goods, but Trump has remained focused on what he calls non-tariff trade barriers.

U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender stated a few hours earlier on Fox's "Sunday Morning Futures" program that the U.S. faces a "dual challenge" of negotiating tariff issues with the EU as a whole while also trying to resolve most non-tariff barriers in negotiations with individual European countries, which creates a "negotiation dilemma."The European Union shared a new trade proposal with the United States last week to promote negotiations. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic spoke with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer last Friday.

Gold prices plummeted after opening, while U.S. stock futures rose in response.

After U.S. President Trump extended the deadline for imposing high tariffs on Europe, U.S. stock index futures rose during early Asian trading on Monday, with Nasdaq futures gaining as much as 1%.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The U.S. dollar fluctuated after dropping to its lowest level since December 2023 last Friday, following Trump's latest remarks. The Japanese yen and Swiss franc were the main beneficiaries of Trump's threatening comments last Friday, but they retreated during early Asian trading on Monday.

Spot gold plummeted after opening in the Asian market on Monday, hitting a low of around $3,341 per ounce, down more than $16 during the day.

Bloomberg noted that these movements reflect the increasing uncertainty in the market, with Trump's fierce criticism of Europe last Friday reminiscent of his erratic policymaking. Trump's tariff threats last Friday also included a 25% tariff on smartphones if companies, including Apple and Samsung, failed to shift production to the U.S.

Rodrigo Catril, a strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney, stated on Monday, "Overall, today's news is good. However, ongoing threats are detrimental to investment and hiring decisions."

Last Friday, U.S. President Trump stated on his social media platform "Truth Social" that he proposed imposing a 50% tariff on the EU starting June 1. Trump wrote that the main purpose of the EU's establishment was to "take advantage of the U.S. in trade."

Trump claimed that the EU has set up strong trade barriers, imposed value-added taxes, corporate fines, non-monetary trade barriers, currency manipulation, and unfair and unreasonable lawsuits against U.S. companies. Trump stated that negotiations between the U.S. and the EU have made "no progress."

Trump suggested imposing a direct 50% tariff on EU products starting June 1, 2025, while products manufactured or produced in the U.S. would be exempt from tariffsLast Friday, due to Trump's threat to raise tariffs on the EU to 50% and targeting smartphone manufacturers like Apple and Samsung, market risk aversion surged sharply. Spot gold closed that day up $62.88, an increase of 1.90%, reporting $3,357.69 per ounce.