Muhamad Yehia.. Cairo
US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 50% tax on all imports from the European Union, as the trade war intensifies.
US President Donald Trump has recommended Friday a 50% tariff on the European Union after complaining that negotiations were not going well and Brussels was “difficult to deal with”.
Trump took to social media to share his thoughts, suggesting the elevated duty to start on 1 June, in less than a month.
The US president said he wants to charge higher import taxes on goods from the EU, a long-standing US ally, than from China, a geopolitical rival that had its tariffs cut to 30% this month so Washington and Beijing could hold negotiations.
Trump was upset by the lack of progress in trade talks with the EU, which has insisted on cutting tariffs to zero even as the president has publicly insisted on preserving a baseline 10% tax on most im
“Our discussions with them are going nowhere,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% tariff on the European Union, starting on 1 June 2025. There is no tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States.”
Since mid-March, the Trump administration has imposed 25% tariffs on EU steel and aluminium, 25% on EU-made cars and 10% on all EU imports
The 10% rate is supposed to remain in place until 8 July, when Trump’s 90-day negotiation window expires.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, declined to comment on the US president’s words.
Previously, the EU had offered a zero-tariff trade deal with the US, but Washington didn’t accept that.
As part of the current trade negotiations, the European Union and the United States have recently shared position papers that were radically apart, Euronews learnt.
In a recent interview with Euronews, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said EU standards on agriculture and food are “not up for negotiation” after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last month criticised EU regulations preventing some US-made meat and chicken from entering the European market due to the use of hormones deemed unsafe by Brussels.
The European Commission said that it stands ready to implement up to €95 billion in countermeasures if trade negotiations with the US fail to address the trade deficit.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has recently lowered its economic forecast, assuming that the trade tariff on European goods imported by the US would be set at 10% for the long term. The latest forecast said, the GDP in the eurozone is expected to grow by 0.9% and the EU economy to expand by 1.1% this year.
Apple also threatened
That post had been preceded by a threat of import taxes against the US tech giant Apple.
Apple now joins Amazon, Walmart and other major US companies in the White House’s crosshairs as they try to respond to the uncertainty and inflationary pressures unleashed by his tariffs.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump wrote. “If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US.”
In response to Trump’s tariffs on China, Apple and CEO Tim Cook were looking to shift iPhone manufacturing to India as the company adjusts its supply chains. That plan has become a source of frustration for Trump, who also brought it up last week during his Middle East
US stock futures sold off after Trump’s postings, the main European stock indexes also turned negative, losing between 1%-2.5% by 3 pm CET.