The tariffs aim to correct America’s long-running trade imbalances with the two trading partners, the U.S. president said.
President Donald Trump has announced a 30 percent tariff on imports from the European Union and Mexico, to go into effect on Aug. 1, a deadline that applies to a bevy of reciprocal tariffs that Trump said he’s imposing on many of America’s trading partners to address long-running trade imbalances and other factors.
In letters posted on social media on July 12, Trump said that the two trading partners had for years imposed various tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers on the United States and that the duties they now face seek to correct that imbalance.
The U.S. president said that both the European Union (EU) and Mexico would face higher levies if they retaliate by raising their trade barriers against America. He highlighted the need to lower or eliminate U.S. trade deficits with both trading partners as a matter of economic and national security.
This week, Trump sent similar letters to more than 20 other U.S. trading partners—including Canada, Japan, and Brazil—imposing blanket tariffs between 20 and 50 percent.
In his letter to the leader of Mexico, Trump acknowledged that the country has taken positive steps in stemming the flow of illegal immigrants and fentanyl into the United States. But he said Mexico has not done enough to prevent cartels from trying to turn North America into a “Narco-Trafficking Playground.”
Trump said that he might consider adjustments to the tariff rate if Mexico lowers its trade barriers against the United States, and if it’s successful in challenging the cartels and stopping the flow of fentanyl.
In his letter to EU leadership, Trump said that the bloc’s trade barriers against the United States are unfair and unsustainable. The 30 percent levy is “far less” than what’s needed to eliminate the trade imbalance, Trump said, and demanded that the EU eliminate any tariffs against America and allow complete and open market access.
Also, just like he did in his missive to Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in his letter that the tariff rate may be modified—upward or downward—based on developments in America’s respective bilateral relationships with the EU and Mexico.
By Tom Ozimek
