Trump fires new 50% tariff threat at EU
PHOTO: FILE
President Donald Trump rekindled the US trade war on Friday, threatening to impose a 50 percent tariff on the European Union — and drawing a strong response from European politicians.
If they come into effect, the new duties on Brussels would dramatically raise Washington's current baseline levy of 10 percent, and fuel simmering tensions between the world's biggest economy and its largest trading bloc.
Lamenting that negotiations with the EU "are going nowhere," Trump said on Truth Social on Friday that he is recommending "a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025."
The EU had been "formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE," he said, taking a swipe at "difficult" negotiations.
European leaders and senior politicians reacted with dismay to Trump's announcement, and called for de-escalation.
"We are sticking to our position: de-escalation, but ready to respond," France's trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin posted on the X social media platform.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin called Trump's announcement "enormously disappointing," writing on X that "tariffs are damaging to all sides."
"We do not need to go down this road," he said, without spelling out how Europe might respond.
Wall Street stocks fell on the news, before paring some losses.
Trump imposed a new sweeping "baseline" tariff of 10 percent against most countries last month, and even steeper duties on dozens of trading partners — including a 20 percent levy on the EU — which have since been paused for 90 days to allow for trade talks.
The US president has also introduced sector-specific measures on automobiles, steel and aluminum not produced in the United States, which remain in place for many countries.
The Trump team has claimed some early successes, announcing a deal to permanently roll back some sector-specific tariffs on Britain, and another agreement with China to reduce prohibitively high levies and retaliatory measures for a 90 days — a move that was welcomed by jittery financial markets.
But the talks between the United States and the EU have failed to make much progress, with Brussels recently threatening to hit US goods worth nearly 100 billion euros ($113 billion) with tariffs if it does not lower the duties on European goods.
Speaking to Bloomberg Television on Friday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the lower 10 percent tariff rate was "contingent on countries or trading blocs coming and negotiating in good faith."
"And I think the president was getting frustrated with the EU," he said.