President Donald Trump has announced a 30% tariff for both the European Union (E.U.) and Mexico, with the charges set to come into effect on Aug. 1.
Trump shared the news on Saturday via his Truth Social platform, as he continued posting letters sent from the U.S. to other countries lining out trade deals and tariffs. In the letters to the E.U. and Mexico, delivered on Friday, Trump referred to the countries’ respective trade deficits with the U.S. as a “major threat” to national security.
Addressing Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump made reference to the initial tariffs he placed on the neighboring country upon his return to the White House, when he said Mexico was largely responsible for the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. He acknowledged that Mexico has since “been helping” to secure the border, but said its actions are “not enough.”
“Mexico has still not stopped the cartels, who are trying to turn all of North America into a narco-trafficking playground. Obviously I cannot let that happen,” Trump said. “Starting 1 August, we will charge Mexico a tariff of 30% on Mexican products sent into the United States, separate from all sectoral tariffs.”
As he has stipulated elsewhere, Trump added that “there will be no tariff” if Mexico opts to build and manufacture products within the United States instead. He went on to say that if Mexico successfully challenges the cartels and stops “the flow of fentanyl” into the U.S., then an adjustment to the tariffs will be considered.
In what has become somewhat of a hallmark of these trade negotiation letters, Trump signed off with the statement: “You will never be disappointed with the United States of America.”
Read More: Trump Blows Past His Own Tariff Deadline and Sends Warning Letters to More Countries
Addressing the tariffs in a statement shared on its official government website on Saturday, Mexico said its delegates had told U.S. officials a day prior that the new tariff rate would amount to “unfair treatment” of which Mexico did not agree to.
Meanwhile, in his letter to the E.U., Trump delivered the same promise of a 30% tariff, citing that the U.S. has one of “its largest trade deficits” with the bloc. Trump has long taken issue with the E.U. In 2018, during his first term in the White House, when asked about tariffs, Trump said that “nobody treats us much worse than the European Union” and argued the bloc was “formed” to “take advantage of” the U.S.
In this new letter, Trump said the relationship between the U.S. and the E.U. “has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal.” When delivering his levy of a 30% tariff on E.U. products sent into the United States, separate from all sectoral tariffs, Trump issued a warning that “goods transshipped to evade a higher tariff will be subject to that higher tariff.”
Trump also issued a stark warning against any retaliatory measures.
“The E.U. will allow complete, open-market access to the United States, with no tariff being charged to us, in an attempt to reduce the large trade deficit,” Trump said. “If, for any reason, you decide to raise your tariffs and retaliate, then whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 30% that we charge.”
Trump went on to say that the tariffs “may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your country.”
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has responded to the announcement.
“A 30% tariff on E.U. exports would hurt businesses, consumers, and patients on both sides of the Atlantic,” she said via social media. “We will continue working towards an agreement by August 1. At the same time, we are ready to safeguard E.U. interests on the basis of proportionate countermeasures.”
The negotiations between the E.U. and the U.S. have been rocky, to say the least, since Trump’s return to the White House.
In May, Trump accused the E.U. of stalling trade talks. “Our discussions with them are going nowhere,” he said, threatening to place a “straight 50% tariff” on the E.U. starting June 1. After a phone call with the president of the European Commission, Trump reneged and agreed to go back to the July 9 deadline. (Trump started sending out his trade agreements and letters on July 9, his initial tariffs-related deadline, but the White House has said the higher tariffs will not go into effect until August 1.)
Over the past four days, Trump has announced a slew of higher levies against countries, including a 35% tariff for Canada and a 25% tax on goods imported from South Korea and Japan.
Trump unveiled his initial “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2, setting a 10% base charge for most countries, with some receiving additional higher rates. Amid recession fears and concern from world leaders, Trump granted a 90-day extension for most countries, delaying the start date for all but the 10% levy, to allow time for negotiations.
Now, as the recently-announced August 1 start date looms, leaders within the E.U. are avidly watching the trade negotiations take place.
“We trust in the goodwill of all stakeholders to reach a fair agreement that can strengthen the West as a whole, given that—particularly in the current scenario—it would make no sense to trigger a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic,” read a statement from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office on Saturday, following Trump’s announcement of the 30% tariff.
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