European stocks will rise after Trump says he will delay tariffs until July 9th
European shares rose after President Donald Trump announced a new 50% tariff delay until July 9th.
President Donald Trump says that US tariff policies, which rattle global trade, supply chains and financial markets, are designed to encourage the US production of cutting-edge technological products and military equipment, not apparel and sneakers.
“To be honest, I’m not going to make t-shirts, I’m not going to make socks, I can do that elsewhere,” Trump told reporters before boarding the Air Force in New Jersey on May 25th.
Trump added that he agreed with Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent that the United States does not need a “vibrant textile industry.” This comment was thoroughly criticized by domestic manufacturers and producers of textiles, yarn, household goods and more.
“We’re not looking to make sneakers or t-shirts. We want to create military equipment,” he said. “We want to make something big. We want to make, we want to do AI.”
China has been the world’s largest apparel manufacturer and exporter for over a decade. In response to the Republican President’s trade war with Beijing, Chinese social media users have chuckled the US with an AI-generated viral video depicting boring, skilled, excluded Americans preparing fabrics before placing them on a sewing machine. Others in the video have a glass-enclosed look when assembling their smartphones. Finally, the screen flashes and “make America great again.”
The American Apparel & Footwear Association responded to Trump’s statement that additional tariffs only put an additional burden on the industry.
“We need to focus on common sense solutions that allow us to move needles using 97% of the clothes and shoes we import, already the most tariff industry in the United States,” AAPA President Steve Lamar said in a statement. “Large tariffs mean higher input costs for US manufacturers and higher prices that hurt lower-income consumers.”
On April 3, Trump announced the global “liberation day” mutual tariffs, rushing to send global financial markets before suspending tariffs for 90 days in most countries except China. Trump won a part in the 2016 and 2024 US presidential elections by appealing to working-class voters who have been hurt by loss of jobs in the US manufacturing industry over the years.
The Trump administration has been negotiating trade deals with various countries since April.
The only transaction we have ever reached was with the UK. Discussions with China, which imposed strict tariffs on the US, are underway after the two countries agreed to lower the sudden tariffs.
Contribution: Zac Anderson, USA TODAY; Reuters
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA Today. x You can follow her at @swapnavenugopal
