The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 27th, 2025: Trump Puts EU Tariffs On Hold & Eyes Sanctions On Putin
Tue, 27 May 2025
In this episode of The President’s Daily Brief: President Trump agrees to delay his 50% tariff threat on all European Union imports following a direct call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Later in the show: Signs of escalating tension between Washington and Moscow, as Trump weighs new sanctions on Russia for its continued aggression in Ukraine. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this episode?
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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.
Chapter 2: 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.
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Chapter 3: 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.
Chapter 4: 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.
And now he's eyeing new sanctions. So the question is, is Washington finally getting serious about punishing Moscow? I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, this July, there's an important global summit coming up. It's of BRICS nations, and it's going to be held in Rio de Janeiro.
The bloc of emerging superpowers, it includes Russia and China and Iran, India, they're meeting with the goal of displacing the U.S. dollar as the global currency, and they're calling their effort the Rio Reset. Now, as BRICS nations push forward with their plans, well, demand for U.S. dollars could decrease, bringing down, of course, the value of the dollar.
And while the transition won't happen overnight, the Rio reset does mark a pivotal moment when BRICS objectives move from possibility toward reality. So, you ask yourself... How can you help protect your hard earned dollar savings? Well, let me suggest that you check in with the professionals at Birch Gold Group.
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Chapter 5: What is the significance of the upcoming BRICS summit?
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Chapter 6: How can listeners protect their savings amid market changes?
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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. In the latest sign of deepening tensions between Washington and Moscow, sources inside the White House are now saying that President Trump is seriously considering a new round of sanctions against Russia. That would mark a significant shift, of course, after months of hesitation and reluctance to up the pressure on the Kremlin.
Details on the proposed sanctions are still murky. According to reporting in the Wall Street Journal, the measures likely wouldn't target that would not target Russia's banking sector. But other penalties are being discussed, meant to pressure Putin into agreeing to a ceasefire deal that Ukraine and its allies have long supported.
That proposal would halt fighting for 30 days, and Russia, up to this point, has rejected it consistently. Trump's apparent change in tone comes after a weekend of massive Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine. Attacks were launched Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, killing at least 29 people and wounding dozens more, including civilians in Kyiv.
As we reported on Monday, the president blasted Putin this past weekend, writing on Truth Social that the Russian president has, quote, gone absolutely crazy. He went on to accuse Putin of needlessly killing a lot of people. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov fired back, accusing President Trump of, quote, emotional overload.
Still, if Trump decides to move forward with sanctions, there's no shortage of support in Congress. A bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal would slap a 500% tariff on goods imported from any country that buys Russian oil, gas, uranium, or other products. That bill already has 81 co-sponsors in the Senate.
On the House side, the pressure is also building. Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon wrote on X, Peace talks are having zero effect on Putin. His goal is to dominate Ukraine and he won't stop until he realizes he cannot win. The U.S. and allies must arm Ukraine to the teeth, sanction Russia to the max, and confiscate the $300 billion in overseas Russian assets."
And on that point, the point of arming Ukraine, the Europeans may be gearing up to take matters into their own hands. With President Trump signaling that he may scale back direct U.S. involvement in the war, multiple European nations are reportedly preparing to ramp up arms purchases from American defense contractors. According to Bloomberg, the working theory is simple. If Trump won't send U.S.
weapons to Ukraine, Europe will. But there's one problem. Europe currently lacks the stockpiles and production capacity to sustain Ukraine's war effort on its own. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Tuesday, the 27th of May. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
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