PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 27th, 2025: Trump Puts EU Tariffs On Hold & Eyes Sanctions On Putin
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What is the main topic of this episode?
My name is Mike Slater. I have a podcast called Politics by Faith. I was just talking to a friend of mine who said he hasn't been able to follow the news lately. It's been too much. It's too crazy. It's driving him crazy. And he's just checked out. If you feel that way sometimes too, I think you'll really like our podcast, Politics by Faith. We take the main story of the day and we run it through the Bible. What does the Bible say about this? It's amazing, but it's all there. And then God tells us what to do. We don't even have to figure it out. The answers are right there. He gives us the answers. Politics by faith. Please join us over there. You can listen to it wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. Politics by faith.
It's Tuesday, the 27th of May. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start today's show with a tactical pause from President Trump. He's hit the brakes on his 50% tariff threat against Europe after a personal call from European Union Chief Ursula von der Leyen.
Why did Trump delay the EU tariffs?
Later in the show, a sign of deepening tensions between Washington and Moscow as reports emerge that Trump is now seriously considering sanctions against Russia after months of hesitation and reluctance. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. In a temporary reprieve from trade tensions, President Trump has granted a six-week pushback on his proposed 50% tariff on all European Union imports to July, following a call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In a post to Truth Social, Trump said von der Leyen called him personally to request the delay, writing, quote, He added that she was ready to begin talks, quote, Now, speaking to reporters, Trump said von der Leyen made clear that she wanted, quote, serious negotiations. Trump continued, quote, July 9th was the date she requested and I agreed to do that.
She said we will see if we can work something out, end quote. Now, von der Leyen, for her part, confirmed the outreach in a post to X, calling it, quote, a good call, and said Europe was, quote, ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively. A European Commission spokeswoman added Monday that both sides had agreed to fast-track negotiations and stay in close contact. Now, it's a diplomatic breather, which of course is, well, not the same as a trade deal. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Trump had set a 1st of June deadline for the sweeping tariffs, citing what he called years of lopsided trade policy, regulatory hostility, and structural imbalances favoring Brussels.
What are the implications of Trump's tariff threat?
The president's warning of a 50% across the board penalty was aimed at bringing Brussels quickly to the table. In previous Truth Social posts, Trump accused the EU of manipulating monetary policy, imposing punitive taxes on American companies, and using its value-added tax structure to tilt trade unfairly. The president pegged the U.S. trade deficit with the EU bloc at roughly $250 billion a year, calling it, quote, totally unacceptable, and warned that without serious reform, a blunt force tariff was the only viable countermeasure. The warning came just days after a May 18 trilateral meeting between Vice President J.D. Vance, von der Leyen, and the Italian Prime Minister, where trade talks reportedly broke down.
Administration officials now say the tariff threat served as a pressure tactic, an unmistakable message to Brussels to bring more urgency to the negotiating table.
How is the US responding to Russia's actions?
Treasury Secretary Scott Besson drove that point home in an interview with Fox News, stating, quote, "...the EU has a collective action problem," adding that it's 27 countries being represented by one group in Brussels, and some of the feedback we've been getting, he said, is that the underlying countries don't even know what the EU is negotiating on their behalf. And while Trump has long criticized the EU as a structure designed to, quote, take advantage of the U.S., the recent flurry of contact between Washington and Brussels, well, signals at least the potential for a reset. Now, whether those talks yield a breakthrough or simply postpone a trade war by six weeks, well, of course, that remains to be seen. Coming up next, Trump calls Putin, quote, crazy.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic of this episode?
0:00–1:14
2
Why did Trump delay the EU tariffs?
1:14–2:57
3
What are the implications of Trump's tariff threat?
2:57–3:57
4
How is the US responding to Russia's actions?
3:57–5:43
5
What is the significance of the upcoming BRICS summit?
5:43–7:51
6
How can listeners protect their savings amid market changes?
7:51–11:36
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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