MW Trump's tariff tantrums return. He's targeting the EU with a 50% levy now.

By Barbara Kollmeyer

Talks with the trading bloc 'are going nowhere,' Trump says

President Donald Trump rebooted tariff tensions ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, roiling financial markets with two threats, one of which was aimed at the European Union.

"Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% tariff on the European Union, starting June 1," Trump posted on Truth Social early Friday, adding that the EU has been "very difficult to deal with."

"Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable," Trump wrote.

His vow to slap Europe with higher tariffs came within minutes of a separate post threatening Apple $(AAPL)$ with 25% tariffs on any iPhone sold but not made in the United States. U.S. stock futures (ES00) (YM00) (NQ00) were already moving lower on the Apple tariff threat, but losses picked up dramatically after Trump vowed tariffs on Europe.

Stocks in Europe, which have been attracting more attention from investors this year, also tumbled, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP dropping 1.5%. The index has gained 6.3% this year, against a 0.67% drop for the S&P 500 SPX.

Tech and automobile stocks were bearing the brunt of losses on Friday, with BE Semiconductor Industries (NL:BESI), STMicroelectronics $(STM)$ and Infineon Technologies (XE:IFX) down around 4% each. Mercedes-Benz (XE:MBG), Daimler Truck (XE:DTG) and BMW (XE:BMW) were also posting losses around 4%. The biggest imports from the EU to the U.S. are pharmaceuticals, cars and car parts, and computer and electronic products, in that order. The main U.S. export to Europe is energy products.

The EU now has roughly nine days to reach an agreement with Trump or face a hefty levy. The trading bloc had faced a 10% tariff following a 90-day pause on Trump's "liberation day" tariffs, which he announced on April 2. Those tariffs, which were based on a simplistic formula, were blamed for a historic market selloff.

Earlier in May, the European Commission announced it had launched a consultation for retaliation on 95 billion euros ($107 billion) worth of U.S. goods if talks with the U.S. did not succeed.

"The president believes EU proposals are not [of] the same quality that we've seen from our other important trading partners. This is just in response to the EU's pace," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox News on Friday.

Bessent said the EU has a "collective action problem," with 27 countries "being represented by this group [in] Brussels. So some of the feedback that I've been getting is that the underlying countries don't even know what the EU is negotiating on their behalf," he said.

Victor Reklaitis contributed.

-Barbara Kollmeyer

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May 23, 2025 10:12 ET (14:12 GMT)

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