Mexico and the European Union (EU) have condemned US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 30% tariffs on their imports from 1 August. Mexico branded what it referred to as Trump’s “unfair deal” and maintained its sovereignty was not open to negotiation, while the EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, warned that it would take “proportionate countermeasures” if necessary. Both declared they wished to continue negotiating with the US.
Trump has threatened to impose even greater import levies if either of the US trading partners retaliates. Trump announced this week new tariffs on Japanese, South Korean, Canadian and Brazilian goods from next month.
In the Friday letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump said: “We’ve had years to talk about our trade relationship with the European Union, and have determined we need to move away from these long-term-large, and persistent, trade deficits, caused by your tariff, and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers.
“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal,” the letter continued. In his correspondence with the EU and Mexico, Trump threatened that if either of these trade partners responded with their import tariffs against the US, he would retaliate by increasing tariffs by the same percentage above 30%.
During a pre-taped interview with Fox News that aired last night, President Trump explained that some nations were “very upset now”, but he confirmed the tariffs meant “hundreds of billions of dollars” were “pouring in”.
The EU has been the subject of numerous attacks by Trump. On 2 April, he suggested a 20% tariff on the bloc’s goods, along with dozens of other trade partners. He later threatened to put the EU import taxes up to 50% when trade negotiations faltered.
Washington and Brussels had anticipated signing an agreement before 9 July came around, but there have been no reports on the progress. For 2024, the US deficit with the bloc was $235.6bn (€202bn; £174bn), as reported by the US Trade Representative’s office.
The EU was still prepared “to continue working towards an agreement by Aug 1″, von der Leyen stated. We will take all necessary steps to protect EU interests, including the imposition of proportionate countermeasures if need be,” von der Leyen said.
“Few other economies around the globe can equal the European Union’s openness and commitment to equitable trading,” her remarks further stated.
