US President Donald Trump on Friday (May 23) claimed that the European Union has been ‘very difficult’ to deal with in the trade talks and that the current US trade in goods deficit is “totally unacceptable” and announced 50 per cent tariffs on EU from June 1, 2025.
Trump took to Truth Social and wrote, "The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with."
Also read: Trump's BIG warning to Apple: Make iPhones in US, not in India or face 25% tariffs
Taking aim at the so-called 'Trade Barriers' put up by the European Union, he wrote, “Their powerful Trade Barriers, VAT taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against American companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable. Our discussions with them are going nowhere!”
"Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States," Trump added.
The EU Commission declined to comment on US President Donald Trump’s comments. The Commission said it would wait for a phone call between EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and his US counterpart Jamieson Greer to take place at 15:00 GMT.
European markets fall
Minutes after the US president's announcement European stock markets slid down. Germany’s DAX fell by 1.9%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB has lost 2%.
The Stoxx 600 Banks Index, which tracks bank shares in Europe, went down by 1.7%.
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In London, the FTSE 100 index of blue-chip shares dropped 1.1%, as the trade war rose again.
