On July 12, US President Donald Trump issued two letters to the European Union (EU) and Mexico, stating that he would impose a 30% tax on imported goods from these two partners from August 1.
We agree to continue working with the EU, despite the large trade deficit with them. However, we are determined to move forward, but only with a more fair and balanced trade, Trump wrote in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, posted on the social network Truth Social.
The EU and Mexico became the latest two names on the list of parties whose import tariffs will be adjusted by the US following a series of tariff threats issued by Trump earlier this week.
In the letter, he affirmed that all imports from the EU and Mexico will be subject to a 30% tax rate, except for some industry-based taxes, such as the 25% tax on cars.
Ms. von der Leyen immediately responded in a statement, emphasizing the EU's readiness to continue negotiations until the deadline of August 1, but warned: " apting a 30% tax on EU exports will seriously disrupt the transatlantic supply chain, negatively affecting businesses and consumers on both sides".
She also affirmed that the EU will take all necessary measures to protect its interests, including appropriate responses if necessary.
For Mexico, Mr. Trump sent a letter to President Claudia Sheinbaum, recalling the reason he gave in February was to prevent the wave of fentanyl drugs from flooding into the US. Mexico has supported me in controlling the border, but that is not enough, he wrote.
goods from Mexico are currently largely exempt from tariffs when imported into the US, as long as they comply with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that Mr. Trump negotiated during his previous term.
In the two letters, Mr. Trump warned that if countries retaliate by raising tariffs on US goods, that increase would be added to the 30% applied by the US.
He also accused the EU and Mexico of using tariff and non-tax barriers, including value added tax and digital service tax - something the Trump administration has repeatedly opposed. These taxes are applied to the total revenue of online companies, including income from advertising, sales of data, software or subscription, even if the business has not made a profit.
Trump said the EU has not held goodwill talks in previous rounds. In May, he threatened to impose a 50% tariff on EU goods if progress was not made in negotiations before June 1. Im not looking for a deal, he said at the time.
The 30% tax rate proposed by Mr. Trump is significantly higher than the counterpart tax rate of 20% previously applied before he temporarily postponed it in mid-April.
Following Trump's threat, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that "the proposals from the EU are not as good as other major US trading partners".
The day before, Mr. Trump also announced that he would consider imposing a 35% tax on some imports from Canada.
