(The Hill) – President Trump announced plans to implement a 50 percent tariff on the European Union (EU) beginning next month, claiming that the 27-member bloc has been difficult to negotiate with and that discussions have stalled.
“The European Union, which was created with the primary goal of taking advantage of the United States through TRADE, has been extremely challenging to deal with. Their strong trade barriers, VAT taxes, unreasonable corporate penalties, non-monetary trade obstacles, currency manipulations, unfair and unjustified legal actions against American companies, and more have resulted in a trade deficit with the U.S. exceeding $250,000,000 annually, a figure that is entirely unacceptable,” Trump stated in a Friday morning post on Truth Social.
The president further stated that discussions with the EU are “going nowhere,” and for this reason, he is advocating a “straight 50 percent tariff on the European Union, commencing on June 1, 2025. No tariff will be applied if the product is produced or manufactured within the United States.”
The potential hike of import taxes on Europe would escalate tensions with the EU. Trump rolled out his “Liberation Day” tariffs in April, which included a 20 percent duty on European goods. The bloc swiftly responded with its own countermeasures.
Since then, Trump has halted most of the reciprocal tariffs to allow for negotiations to take place, but a 10 percent duty was left in place. He’s also suggested in recent days that once the pause is over, the administration would announce new rates.
In early May, the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, rolled out a plan to respond to Trump by slapping tariffs on more than $100 billion worth of U.S. goods if the negotiations with Washington do not yield a desirable outcome. The list included cars, alcohol, industrial products and Boeing planes.
The commission said it would debate the measures through June 10 with its members.
