Trump Imposes 30% Tariff on the European Union and Mexico

SadaNews - US President Donald Trump announced today, Saturday, his intention to impose a 30% tariff against the European Union and Mexico.

Trump said in two separate messages published on his platform, Truth Social, that the tariffs will take effect on August 1, noting Mexico's role in the flow of drugs into the United States and the trade imbalance with the European Union.

In his message to the President of Mexico, Trump acknowledged that this country has been helpful in stopping the flow of undocumented immigrants and fentanyl into the United States. However, he said it has not done enough to prevent North America from becoming "a drug trafficking ground."

The US president said in his message to the European Union that the US trade deficit poses a threat to national security.

He wrote in the message directed to the Union, "We have spent years discussing our trade relationship with the European Union and have concluded that we must move away from this large, ongoing, and long-term trade deficit resulting from your tariff and non-tariff policies and trade barriers. Unfortunately, our relationship has been far from reciprocal."

European Comment

In comments on this, three officials from the Union told Reuters that Trump's threat to impose a 30% tariff on European goods starting next month is a "negotiating tactic."

With today's messages, Trump has now issued tariff conditions on 24 countries and the European Union, which consists of 27 member states.

Two days ago, Canada received a similar message where the US president set the tariff rate on its goods at 35%.

The European Union and dozens of other countries were preparing last Wednesday for an increase in the US tariffs currently set at 10%, but Trump extended the deadline to August 1.

Trump's campaign for high tariffs on allies and foes alike is a cornerstone of his 2024 election campaign, which he claims will lay the groundwork for reviving the American economy, which he considers to have been robbed by other countries for decades, as he put it.

With the reciprocal tariffs, Trump is effectively undermining the rules governing global trade. For decades, the United States and most other countries have adhered to tariff rates established through a series of complex negotiations known as the Uruguay Round.