On the evening of May 24, 2025 (Vietnam time), US President Donald Trump posted a strong message on the social network Truth Social, accusing the EU of "taking advantage of the US for trade" and declaring that he would propose a 50% import tax rate for all goods from this region, effective from June 1, 2025.
According to Mr. Trump, trade barriers, VAT, and EU sanctions against US businesses have caused a trade deficit of more than 250 million USD/year, which he called "completely unacceptable".
The negotiations with the EU are not going anywhere. I propose applying a tax of 50%. If the product is made in the US, there will be no tax, Trump stressed.
Not stopping there, appearing a few hours later on Fox News, when asked by reporters: "Do you want to make a deal in the next few days?", Mr. Trump almost immediately replied: "I don't need a deal. The tax rate has been set at 50%".
Immediately after the above statement, Bitcoin and a series of large altcoin simultaneously plummeted, extending the series of strong corrections in the cryptocurrency market.
According to data from CoinMarketCap on the morning of May 24, 2025 (Vietnam time), in the past 24 hours: Bitcoin (BTC) decreased by 3.33%, while 107,597 USD, Ethereum (ETH) decreased sharply by 5.83%, down to 2,533 USD, Solana (SOL) lost 4.37%, returned to 174.5 USD, BinNB (Binance Coin) decreased by 3.39%, currently at 663 USD...
The total capitalization of the entire cryptocurrency market was inflated by more than 130 billion USD, reflecting investors' concerns about the risk of a new trade war between the US and the EU.
Trump's announcement of the tax right before June - a time when it is believed that there may be more adjustment policies from the US Federal Reserve (FED) - is pushing the market into a state of "the most watched thing".
With cryptocurrency, which is inherently considered a risky asset, any geopolitical fluctuations can easily cause a sharp decline in value due to the cash flow retreating to safer safe-haven channels such as USD or gold.
Analysts warn that if the EU responds with similar retaliatory measures, trade conflicts will increase, affecting the chain to financial markets, supply chains and investors' confidence in non-traditional assets such as crypto.
"It is not clear whether this is a real policy blow or just a contest, but the market will certainly not be more peaceful in the coming time. Uncertainty is returning," commented an expert at the Kraken exchange.
Although not yet officially effective, Mr. Trump's statement has become the next "fist" to hit the digital currency market, which is struggling after the correction due to the lack of supporting information. Investors are closely monitoring all moves from the White House and the EU's response in the coming days.
Note: In Vietnam, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not recognized as legal payment vehicles and are not protected by law. Investors need to be cautious, avoiding risks from strong price fluctuations and fraud related to cryptocurrency.
