Trump posted to Truth Social, "The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, 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 US of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is 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. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" the president added.
He sent off another post over iPhones, writing, “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank [you] for your attention to this matter!”
The threat of the 50 percent tariff comes as the US and the EU have been trying to iron out a trade deal after Trump's 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariffs that were announced on April 2. After the tariffs were announced, the Trump administration paused the implementation of the tariffs on all countries with the exception of China, but kept a widespread 10 percent tariff.
Later on in May, a de-escalation of tariffs between the US and China was struck, leading to a rally in investment markets. However, with Trump’s threat of a 50 percent tariff on the EU announced along with the tariff on Apple, the markets dipped some on Friday, with Apple dropping 2.5 percent.
The threat against the EU comes after Vice President JD Vance met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as well as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over the weekend, per Fox Business. Additionally, Trump met with Apple CEO Tim Cook at the White House earlier this week.
