U.S. President Trump Imposes 30% on EU from Aug. 1

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the United States will impose 30% tariffs on products imported from the European Union and Mexico, with the new rates set to take effect on August 1.

Trump revealed the decision in letters addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, which he later shared publicly on his social media platform, Truth Social.

According to Trump, any retaliatory tariffs imposed by the EU or Mexico will be met with further increases. “Whatever number you choose to raise them to, that number will be added to the 30% we are charging,” he warned.

The European Union had hoped to reach at least a preliminary agreement that would spare it from becoming the latest recipient of one of Trump’s signature letters announcing broad-based trade penalties on exports to the U.S.

The 27-nation EU is collectively the largest exporter of goods to the United States, with total U.S. imports from the bloc surpassing $553 billion in 2022, according to data from the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Despite recent progress in trade negotiations and Trump’s earlier decision to drop threats of a 50% tariff on EU goods, the bloc still received the formal tariff notice.

Trump has reportedly sent similar letters to 23 other U.S. trade partners over the past week, including Canada, Japan, and Brazil, announcing across-the-board tariffs ranging from 20% to 50%.

The letters frame the new tariffs as a necessary step toward creating what the Trump administration calls a more “reciprocal” global trade environment.

Source: tovima.com