On Saturday, April 26th, during the funeral of Pope Francis, President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen briefly exchanged words and agreed to arrange a formal meeting later.
A spokesperson for von der Leyen, Paula Pinho, posted on social media, “During a brief exchange, President von der Leyen and President Trump agreed to meet. No further details have been disclosed as of now.”
Reuters reported that the European Commission is responsible for EU trade policies and tariffs, but von der Leyen has not been able to schedule a meeting with Trump since his return to the White House in January. According to Euractiv, the European Commission stated that if there was an opportunity for von der Leyen to meet with Trump during her trip to Italy for Pope Francis’ funeral, they would not miss the chance.
A video released by the Italian newspaper “News Report” on Saturday showed Trump shaking hands with von der Leyen at the funeral of Pope Francis, accompanied by First Lady Melania and other leaders, and engaging in a brief and friendly conversation.
In March, the US imposed a 25% tariff on EU cars, steel, and aluminum, followed by a 20% retaliatory tariff on other EU goods in April. Subsequently, the US temporarily halved the 20% retaliatory tariff rate, with an effective period until July 8th, setting a 90-day window to push for a more comprehensive tariff agreement negotiation.
In response, the EU’s 27 countries suspended plans to impose retaliatory tariffs on some US goods and proposed implementing zero tariffs on all industrial products between both sides.
On Friday, European Commission Executive Vice President for Economic Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis stated that the US showed little interest in the zero tariff proposal, and both the US and the EU need to intensify efforts to reach an agreement to avoid mutual tariff escalations.