President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the United States will implement a 30% tariff on goods imported from the European Union and Mexico, set to take effect on August 1.
In letters to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump outlined the new tariff rates, which he subsequently shared on his social media platform, Truth Social.
In both communications, Trump warned that if either the EU or Mexico responds with their own tariff increases, those additional costs will be added to the U.S. 30% rate, effectively compounding the financial impact.
The European Union had been pursuing at least a preliminary agreement to avoid becoming the latest target of Trump’s tariff strategy. The EU member nations exported over $553 billion in goods to the U.S. in 2022, making it the largest trading partner with the United States.
Despite ongoing negotiations that showed signs of progress after Trump temporarily withdrew a threat to impose 50% tariffs, the EU still received a letter enforcing the new tariffs.
Additionally, Trump dispatched similar letters to 23 other U.S. trading partners, including Canada, Japan, and Brazil, establishing tariff levels that range from 20% to 50%.
The letters generally characterize the new tariff structures as essential to the Trump administration’s objective of creating a more “reciprocal” global trade framework.
Trump’s plan for a significant restructuring of trade policy was first introduced on April 2, with a “liberation day” announcement that introduced a global 10% tariff, along with heightened duties specific to nearly 60 countries. This decision led to significant fluctuations in global markets, prompting Trump to pause nearly all higher tariffs shortly thereafter.
During this hiatus, U.S. trade officials expressed optimism about negotiating up to 90 new trade agreements; however, by the projected end of the pause, only preliminary arrangements had been established with the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
The tariff freeze has now been extended until August 1, coinciding with the start of the new tariff rates outlined in Trump’s recent letters.
In comments to NBC News on Thursday, Trump indicated a plan to elevate the baseline tariff rate globally to as high as 20%. “We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” he stated.
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