President Donald Trump has announced that the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% tariff on imports to the US from 1 August.
He warned he would impose even higher import taxes if either of the US trading partners decided to retaliate.
The 27-member EU – America’s biggest trading partner – said earlier this week it hoped to agree a deal with Washington before 1 August.
Trump has this week also said the US will impose new tariffs on goods from Japan, South Korea, Canada and Brazil, also starting from 1 August. Similar letters were sent this week to a number of smaller US trade partners.
In the letter sent on Friday to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump wrote: “We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with the European Union, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term-large, and persistent, trade deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers.”
“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal,” the letter added.
The EU has been a frequent target of Trump’s criticism. On 2 April, he proposed a 20% tariff for goods from the bloc, as well as dozens of other trade partners. He then threatened to raise the EU import taxes to 50% as trade talks stalled.
Washington and Brussels had hoped to reach an agreement before a deadline of 9 July, but there have been no announcements on progress.
In 2024, the US trade deficit with the bloc was $235.6bn (€202bn; £174bn), according to the office of the US trade representative.
Von der Leyen said the EU remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement by Aug 1”.
“Few economies in the world match the European Union’s level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices,” her statement added.
“We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”
Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement she trusted “a fair agreement” could be reached, adding: “It would make no sense to trigger a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic.”
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on social media that the EU “must remain united and resolute” in its aim to reach a “mutually beneficial” deal with the US.
Germany’s Association of the Automotive Industry warned about the prospect of rising costs for German carmakers and suppliers, and said it was “regrettable that there is a threat of a further escalation of the trade conflict”.
In his letter to Mexico’s leader, Trump said the country had not done enough to stop North America becoming a “Narco-Trafficking Playground”.
“Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough,” Trump added.
In his letters to the EU and Mexico, Trump warned that if either trade partner retaliated with import duties of their own against the US, he would hit back by raising tariffs by a similar percentage over and above the 30%.
Mexico responded to Trump’s threat on Saturday, calling it an “unfair deal”.
Trump’s letter did not say if Mexico goods traded within the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement would be exempt from the proposed 1 August tariff hikes, as the White House said would be the case with Canada.
Earlier this week, the White House sent a letter to Canada threatening a 35% tariff.
As of Saturday, the Trump administration has now proposed tariff conditions on 24 countries and the EU.
On 12 April, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro set a goal to secure “90 deals in 90 days”.
So far, the president has announced the outlines of two such pacts with the United Kingdom and Vietnam amid ongoing negotiations.
