Key takeout
US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose new 30% tariffs on Mexico and the European Union from August 1st, launching the latest salvo in the ongoing trade war.
Trump cited the US trade deficit with two trading partners due to the new tariffs announced in a letter posted on his Truth Social Platform on Saturday. In both letters, he said there were no tariffs if both the trading partner or its company “deciding to build or manufacture the product within the United States.”
In his letter to Ursula von der Reyen, president of the EU’s executive branch, Trump said he would consider defeating tariffs if the EU provides “full open market access to the US that is not charged to us.”
In a letter to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump added that the country “helped me to secure the border, but what Mexico has done is not enough. He added, “Mexico has yet to stop the cartels trying to turn everyone in North America into a playground for trafficking in Narco.”
Mexico’s tariff threat in the EU is latest by Trump this week
The announcement is the latest in a gust of wind threats by the president in a volatile week for trade policy. On Friday, Trump threatened a 35% tariff on Canadian imports, which remained effective on August 1, but was exempt from goods compliant with the US-Mexico Free Trade Agreement. It was not immediately clear whether imports from Mexico, which comply with free trade transactions, would be ruled out from Saturday’s announcement. Trump has also announced a recent taxation on more than 20 other countries and a 50% tariff on copper imports.
In response to the 30% tariff threat, EU von del Reyen said in a statement on Saturday that such tariffs “will disrupt the essential transatlantic supply chain to undermine businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.”
She said the EU will continue to work towards attacking the deal by August 1, but “we will take all necessary steps to protect the EU’s interests, including adopting proportional measures as needed.”
