Citing trade imbalances, the US president indicated the new tariff could be implemented starting June 1.
President Trump has proposed a “straight 50% tariff” on all goods from the European Union, pointing to an annual trade deficit of $250 billion. He suggested this tariff could take effect on June 1.
In a post on Truth Social Friday, Trump alleged the EU was initially established “for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the US on Trade,” adding the bloc has been “very difficult to deal with.”
He further stated that the EU’s economic policies, taxes, regulations, and “unfair and unjustified lawsuits against American companies” have contributed to a trade deficit exceeding “more than $250,000,000 a year,” which he deemed “totally unacceptable.”
“Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025,” Trump declared, specifying that products “built or manufactured in the United States” would be exempt.
In April, Trump had imposed a 20% tariff on all EU goods and a 25% tariff on imported cars and metals, but he then suspended the 20% levy for 90 days, maintaining only a 10% base tariff.
Last week, the US president stated that the EU had been difficult concerning trade practices, claiming the bloc was “in many ways nastier than China.”
“They treated us very unfairly,” Trump said. “They sell us 13 million cars; we sell them none. They sell us their agricultural products; we sell them virtually none,” he claimed, promising Washington would “equalize” the situation and that “Europe is gonna have to pay a little bit more…. And America is gonna pay a lot less.”
Friday’s announcement comes amid Trump’s tariff policy changes since his return to office in January, as he claims the US has been taken advantage of globally.
On April 2, which he called “Liberation Day,” Trump put in place a baseline 10% tariff on all imported goods, along with extra charges on countries like China, Mexico, and Canada, citing considerable trade imbalances.
Soon after that action, he implied the US would negotiate individual agreements with its trade partners. However, earlier this month, he announced Washington would set terms independently, citing the inability to “meet the number of people that want to see us,” and noting that the US had received deal requests from around 150 countries.
The White House has yet to reveal the details of these deals or the exact tariffs to be applied.
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