Washington (TDI): The US President, Donald Trump, has once again threatened the European Union with 50% new tariffs on its exports to the United States, on Friday, stating that the new tariffs will be imposed from June 1. He also announced that he might be putting 25% tariffs on all Apple iPhones bought by US consumers.
The new tariff threats have again sparked fear among US and EU traders, causing shares in the European markets and the US to fall and spiking the prices of gold.
The decision was made after the Trump Administration felt frustrated by the progress of trade negotiations with the bloc. This led to a restart in Trump’s hit-and-pause trade war, which has shaken businesses, markets, and consumers alike.
The announcement of tariffs on the leading smartphone company, Apple, appears to be an attempt to put pressure on the company to move its production to the United States, as the US itself does not mass-produce smartphones and consumers buy around 60 million smartphones annually.
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The tariffs would not only be applied to Apple but also to other leading smartphone companies including Samsung.
On Friday, the US President told reporters that the proposed tariffs would also be applied to “Samsung and anybody that makes the product,” and they would be imposed by the end of June. However, the companies can avoid tariffs if they decide to move their production to the United States.
Talking about the tariffs on the European Union’s goods, he said that the EU has treated the US badly and restricted the US from selling the cars to the European Union, “And I just said, ‘It’s time that we play the game the way I know how to play the game.”
Maros Sefcovic, the EU trade Chief responded to President Trump’s announcement and said that the European Commission was fully committed to securing a trade deal that would have worked for both sides.
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He further stated that the EU-US trade must be “guided by mutual respect, not threats.”
However, the Dutch Prime Minister, Dick Schoof, stated responded to the news of new tariffs with calm and said the EU was likely to see this latest announcement as part of the negotiations, and “We have seen before that tariffs can go up and down in talks with the U.S.”
This is the second time since President Trump assumed office that new levies have been imposed on the EU.
Last year, the total exports of the European Union to the United States totaled about $566 billion, dominated by Germany, Ireland, and Italy.
The imposition of 50% tariffs would raise consumer prices of all European products from Italian olives to German cars and would create a major shock for the European markets.
Javaria Khalid is a writer and researcher, who specializes in Pakistan's Foreign Policy Analysis, transatlantic geopolitics, and Pakistan’s relations with the European countries and the EU. She can be reached at javariakhalid011@outlook.com
