US president Donald Trump has threatened on his social media channel Truth Social to impose 50 per cent import tariffs on goods from the European Union from 1 June. The announcement made the European stock markets go into the red on Friday afternoon. European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič should speak with his US counterpart Jamieson Greer later this afternoon.
US president Donald Trump is recommending a 50 per cent import tariffs for the European Union. The tariff should take effect from 1 June, Trump wrote on his social media channel “Truth Social”.
“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,” he stated. “Our discussions with them are going nowhere!”
Trump also claimed that there is a trade deficit between the US and the EU of 250 billion dollars a year, “a number which is totally unacceptable”. But official figures indicate that the EU in 2023 just had a trade surplus with the US of 48 billion euros, which includes trade in both goods and services.
“The European Union has been very difficult to deal with. Our discussions with them are going nowhere!”
Trump continued: ‘“Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025.” That tariff is even higher than the 20 per cent that Trump announced earlier. There would be no tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States, he added.
European stocks plunge
The European stocks plunged following the announcement on Friday afternoon. In Brussels, the Bel20 index went about 2 per cent lower at around 2.10 pm, the Dutch AEX index lost over 1.8 per cent, the French CAC40 almost 2.8 per cent and the German Dax around 1.9 per cent.
Call between the EU and US
The European Union has not responded yet. According to a spokesman, there might be a response after a telephone conversation with the United States. European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič should speak to his US counterpart Jamieson Greer at 5 pm.
