Markets slump as Trump vows 50 per cent tariffs on the EU
President Trump has announced he is “recommending” 50 per cent tariffs be imposed on all European Union (EU) imports into the US, sending markets in Europe and the UK into the red.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that the new rate of trade levies would kick in on 1 June.
The US President slammed the EU as a trading bloc “which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE” and “has been very difficult to deal with.”
“Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans 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.”
He added: “Our discussions with them are going nowhere!”
Trump signed off the post with: “Thank you for your attention in this matter!”
EU tariffs were originally set at 20 per cent in Trump’s initial ‘Liberation Day’ package of tariffs, before being dropped to ten per cent as the US President softened almost all global levies weeks later following market turmoil.
The ten per cent rate of tariffs was intended to hold until 8 July, when the 90-day pause on higher rates of tariffs is set to expire.
Trump’s mega Friday
Trump’s latest announcement concerning the EU came just an hour after Apple was hit with a 25 per cent tariff on any iPhones manufactured outside the US.
Currently, there are no iPhones made in the US, with the bulk of production taking place in India following a strategic shift away from production in China.
Apple chief Tim Cook has long manoeuvred to bolster good relationships with Trump, who has had multiple meetings across both of the President’s terms and attended his inauguration in January.
Elsewhere, Trump turned his fire on Harvard University by revoking the Ivy League college’s legal eligibility to enroll international students – in a move which has left more than 6,000 students in the lurch.
Harvard has responded by suing the Administration, paving the way for weeks of legal battles.