President Trump announced a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union and Mexico will start on August 1st.

Trump unveiled the tariff rates in letters sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum.

More from the Associated Press:

In his letter to Mexico’s leader, Trump acknowledged that the country has been helpful in stemming the flow of undocumented migrants and fentanyl into the United States. But he said the country has not done enough to stop North America from turning into a “Narco-Trafficking Playground.”

“Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough,” Trump added.

ADVERTISEMENT

Trump in his letter to the European Union said that the U.S. trade deficit was a national security threat.

“We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers,” Trump wrote in the letter to the EU. “Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”

“A 30% tariff on EU exports would hurt businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic. We will continue working towards an agreement by August 1. At the same time, we are ready to safeguard EU interests on the basis of proportionate countermeasures,” von der Leyen responded.

The news follows Trump announcing a 25% tariff on imports from from Japan and South Korea starting August 1st.

Trump Administration To Impose 25% Tariffs On Two Countries

CNBC noted:

Trump said that there will not be tariffs on goods from the EU if the 27-member bloc, “or companies within the EU, decide to build or manufacture product[s] within the United States,” he wrote.

He said that if the EU or Mexico retaliates with higher tariffs, “then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added on to the 30% that we charge.”

The EU was seeking at least a preliminary agreement that would spare it from becoming the latest recipient of a letter from Trump dictating a new, across-the-board tariff on its exports to the U.S.

However, it still received a letter from Trump threatening new tariffs, despite both sides having recently signaled progress in their negotiations after Trump backed off a threat to slap 50% tariffs on the bloc.

The EU collectively sells more to the U.S. than any single country: Total U.S. goods imports from the EU topped $553 billion in 2022, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

ADVERTISEMENT

Read the letters below:

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.