Trump threatens EU with 50% tariffs again, sending European stock markets plummeting

By The New Obs with AFP

Published on May 23, 2025 at 4:04 p.m.

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This is a new warning shot. This Friday, May 23, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on European products imported into the United States starting June 1. He believes that the current negotiations are "going nowhere." "It is very difficult to deal with the EU, which was created in the first place to take advantage of the United States from a commercial point of view. (…) Our discussions are going nowhere. Under these conditions, I recommend imposing 50% tariffs on the EU, starting June 1. There are no tariffs on products made in the United States," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

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Another milestone has been reached in the global trade war that has been underway since April. The escalation, particularly with China, had thrown a wrench into the stock markets, particularly Wall Street, before an agreement and negotiations came along to soothe the tension .

The American president, who is rekindling hostilities towards the EU, rails against "trade barriers, VAT, ridiculous sanctions against companies, non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, unjustified and unfair prosecutions against American companies, which have led to a trade deficit of more than 250 million dollars per year, which is totally unacceptable." Donald Trump has repeatedly denounced the trade deficit of the United States in these bilateral exchanges with Europe, which he estimates at between 300 and 350 billion dollars.

According to the White House Trade Representative (USTR) data, the US trade deficit with the EU was expected to be $235 billion in 2024, but the European Commission disputes this data, saying it would be €150 billion (around $160 billion) for goods alone, and only €50 billion when the US trade surplus in services is included.

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