By Aamer Madhani
Bridgewater, N.J. (AP) – President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he would impose 30% tariffs on the European Union and Mexico starting August 1.
Trump detailed the planned tariffs in a letter posted to his social media account. They said they are part of Trump’s announcement blitz of new tariffs with allies and enemies, and the foundation for the 2024 campaign, setting the foundation for a revival of the US economy he claims to have been torn apart by other countries for decades.
In a letter to Mexican leader President Claudia Sinbaum, Trump acknowledged that the country has helped to stem the undocumented immigration and fentanyl flow to the United States. However, he said he hasn’t done enough to stop North America from becoming a “drug trafficking playground.”
“Mexico has helped secure the border, but what Mexico has done isn’t enough,” Trump added.
In his letter to the European Union, Trump said the US trade deficit poses a threat to national security.
“We have been years to discuss business relationships with the European Union. We have concluded that we must move away from these long-term, large and sustained trade deficits brought about by your tariffs and non-tariffs, policies and trade barriers,” Trump wrote in a letter to the EU. “Unfortunately, our relationship was far from each other.”
The letter is in the midst of an on-off Trump threat of imposing tariffs on the country and correctly imposing trade imbalances. In April, Trump imposed tariffs on dozens of countries and then suspended for 90 days to negotiate individual transactions. When the three-month bounty period ended this week, Trump began sending his tariff letters to leaders, but once again pushed back the implementation date by saying that what he says is just a few weeks away.
If he advances tariffs, it could affect almost every aspect of the global economy.
EU members and Mexico respond
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen responded by focusing on Bullock’s “commitment to dialogue, stability and constructive Atlantic partnerships.”
“At the same time, we will take all necessary measures to protect the EU’s interests, including the adoption of proportional measures where necessary,” von derreyen said in a statement.
Von Der Leyen added that the EU is committed to continuing negotiations with the US and reaching an agreement before August 1st. Trade ministers from EU countries are scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss trade relations between the US and China.
European leaders joined in urging Trump to give more time and warning about the possibility of new tariffs in Washington.
“It is now more than ever that we can assert the union’s resolve to firmly defend European interests through European unity,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement posted to X.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said “it makes no sense to cause a trade war on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rocke Rasmussen told the broadcaster doctor that Trump is taking a “meaningless and very myopic approach.” Swedish Prime Minister Wolf Christerson warned in an interview with SVT that “everyone will fall out of an escalating trade dispute and become the US consumers who pay the best prices.”
The Mexican government said Friday that during high-level consultations with US State Department officials it was notified that Trump’s letters were coming. The delegation told Trump officials at the meeting that they opposed the decision and deemed it “unfair treatment,” according to a statement from the Mexican government.
Trump warned that if the EU tries to hike its own tariffs in the US, as he had in his previous letter, his administration would raise more tariffs.
Mutual tariffs have effectively blown up the rules governing world trade. For decades, the US and most other countries have been curbing tariff rates set through a series of complex negotiations known as the Uruguay Round. Countries were able to set their own tariffs, but under the “most preferred country” approach, they were unable to charge one country over another.
Mexican tariffs, if enforced, could replace a 25% tariff on Mexican goods that are not complying with the existing US-Canada free trade agreement.
Trump’s letters did not address whether USMCA compliant products will be exempt from Mexico’s tariffs since August 1st. Trump wrote to Canada earlier this week, threatening a 35% tariff hike.
Higher tariffs were suspended
In a letter on Saturday, Trump is currently issuing tariff conditions in 24 countries and the European Union of 27 people.
European leaders hoped that they would avoid receiving Trump’s customs letters and that the transaction would be resolved. Earlier this week, European Union’s lead trade negotiator, Malosh Schiffchovich, said that trade contracts could reach “even in the coming days” to avoid higher tariffs on European goods imported into the US.
The Bullock sells more to the US than any other country. According to the US Trade Representative, US goods imports from the EU exceeded $553 billion in 2022.
Douglas Holtz Arkhun, former director of the Congressional Budget Office and president of the Center Right America Action Forum, said the letter is evidence that there have been no serious trade talks in the past three months. He emphasized that the nation is instead talking between itself about how to minimize their own exposure to the US economy and Trump.
“They spend time talking to each other about what the future will look like and we’re left out,” Holtz Eakin said.
He added that Trump had used letters to demand caution, but that “after all, these are letters to other countries about the taxes he collects his citizens.”
The potential impact is enormous
If tariffs are actually in effect, the potential impact on Europe can be enormous.
According to Eurostat, the value of the EU-US trade in goods and services reached 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros per day.
Europe’s largest exports to the United States were drugs, automobiles, aircraft, chemicals, medical devices, wine and spirit.
Lambert Frescobaldi, chairman of the Italian Federation of Wine and Wine Trade Associations, said Trump’s move could lead to a “virtual embargo” on his country’s wines.
“There were enough letters to write the darkest chapters of the relationship between the two historic Western allies,” Frescobaldi said. “At this point, our destiny and the fate of hundreds of thousands of jobs are tied to extra time, which is important because we can’t imagine that we can sell these volumes of wine elsewhere in the short term.”
Trump has complained about the surplus of EU’s 1.9 billion euro trade commodities.
However, American companies will close some of the gaps by selling the EU when it comes to services such as cloud computing, travel bookings, legal and financial services.
The US service surplus has captured the country’s trade deficit along with the EU to 50 billion euros ($59 billion), accounting for less than 3% of total US trade.
–
Washington AP writer Josh Balk, Angela Charlton of Paris, Regina Garcia Cano of Caracas, Venezuela, Kirsten Griss Harbor of Berlin, Dave Machugh of Frankfurt in Germany and Giada Zampano of Rome contributed to the report.
Original issue: July 12, 2025 8:55am EDT
