May 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is

delaying implementation of a rule set to take effect next week

that would require businesses to make it as easy to cancel

subscriptions and memberships as it is to sign up, to give

companies more time to comply, the agency said on Friday.

The rule that has drawn cheers from consumer groups and a

lawsuit from business associations was set to take effect on May

14. The FTC will now begin enforcing it on July 14, according to

the announcement.

The FTC created the rule under former Democratic Chair Lina

Khan, but has since defended it from a lawsuit claiming the

agency exceeded its authority.

The move shows how the FTC under Donald Trump is seeking to

balance the concerns of U.S. consumers, who elected the

Republican president on promises of addressing the high cost of

living, with complaints from the business community that the

agency took too hard a line under Khan.

The rule is based on dozens of enforcement actions and tens

of thousands of consumer complaints, the FTC has said.

The rule requires retailers, gyms and other businesses to

get consumers' consent for subscriptions, auto-renewals and free

trials that convert to paid memberships. The cancellation method

must be "at least as easy to use" as the sign up process, it

says.

The rule also prohibits requiring consumers who signed up

through an app or a website to go through a chatbot or agent to

cancel. For in-person sign-ups, companies must provide means to

cancel by phone or online.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a trade group representing

major cable and internet providers such as Charter

Communications ( CHTR ), Comcast Corp ( CMCSA ), and Cox

Communications, and media companies like Disney

Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery ( WBD ) are

among those suing to block the rule.