President Donald Trump said "countries from all over the world" are seeking trade deals with the U.S.
Trump took to his social media platform Monday morning, a day after saying the U.S. will delay implementation of a 50% tariff on goods from the European Union from June 1 until July 9 to buy time for negotiations with the bloc.
"Countries from all over the World want to make TRADE DEALS with us. IT IS A BEAUTIFUL THING TO SEE. The Good Ol' USA will soon have tremendous growth, and be stronger than ever before!!!" Trump posted on Truth Social.
On Sunday, Trump spoke with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, who said she "wants to get down to serious negotiations," according to the U.S. president's retelling.
"I told anybody that would listen, they have to do that," Trump told reporters in Morristown, New Jersey, as he prepared to return to Washington.
Von der Leyen, Trump said, vowed to "rapidly get together and see if we can work something out."
Trump backed away from imposing the levies on EU imports from June 1 after the call with von der Leyen, restoring a July 9 deadline to allow talks between the U.S. and the 27-nation union to produce a deal.
Trump had said Friday he wanted "a straight 50% Tariff" on the European Union beginning June 1 because trade talks were stuck.
The European Commission, which oversees trade policy for the EU, said the call between Trump and von der Leyen had added new impetus to the negotiations, which the two presidents had agreed to fast track.
There was little indication, however, of what, if any, progress Trump and von der Leyen had made towards clearing a path to a negotiated solution to the trade dispute.
The EU is pushing for a mutually beneficial deal that could include both sides moving to zero tariffs on industrial goods, and the EU buying more soybeans, arms and liquefied natural gas as it phases out all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027.
One EU official said the EU could even buy more hormone-free beef, as Britain did in a trade deal it struck with the U.S. earlier this month.
The European Commission said Monday it would make a forceful case for its "zero-for-zero" tariff offer, including in a call planned on Monday between European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
"We believe that's a very attractive starting point for a good negotiation that could lead to benefits on both sides of the Atlantic," a Commission spokesperson said.
The EU also sees possible cooperation on issues such as steel overcapacity, which both sides blame on China, and digital technology such as AI.
The EU wants to see an end to 25% tariffs on steel and cars and for Trump to drop his so-called "reciprocal" tariff, which was provisionally set at 20% for the EU but is being held at 10% during a 90-day pause until July.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.