HONG KONG — European shares closed higher and U.S. futures surged Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would delay a threatened 50% tariff on goods from the European Union to July 9.
Trump announced the decision to push back the higher import duties after a call Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, who said she ''wants to get down to serious negotiations,'' according to the U.S. president's retelling.
On Monday, the European Union's chief trade negotiator said he had ''good calls'' with Trump administration officials and that the EU was ''fully committed'' to reaching a trade deal by the July 9 deadline.
Just last week, Trump had said on social media that trade talks with the European Union ''were going nowhere'' and that ''straight 50%'' tariffs could go into effect on June 1.
Markets welcomed the news.
The future for the S&P 500 gained 1.3%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1%. The future for the Nasdaq composite rose 1.4%.
Germany's DAX added 1.5% to 23,977.83 and the CAC 40 in Paris rose 1% to 7,810.49.
Markets were closed in Britain for a holiday.