Trump threatens 50% tariff on EU imports starting June 1

May 23, 2025 (MLN): U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 50% tariff on goods imported from the European Union starting June 1, 2025, citing stalled negotiations and what he described as longstanding trade imbalances.

In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump asserted, “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.”

He criticized the EU’s “powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies.”

The announcement came less than 30 minutes after Trump also threatened to impose a tariff of at least 25% on Apple if the company does not begin manufacturing iPhones in the United States.

Citing a trade deficit of more than $250 billion annually with the EU, Trump stated, “Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025.”

He added that the tariff would not apply to products built or manufactured in the United States.

The threats had an immediate market impact, with stock futures dropping following the posts, underscoring renewed trade tensions under Trump's proposed economic stance.

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