Trump threatens 30pc tariffs on EU, Mexico

The US President announced the tariffs on two of the United States’ biggest trade partners in letters posted to his social media account.

Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Lackland Air Force Base on Friday. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP

The US will charge a 30 per cent tariff on the European Union and Mexico effective August 1, President Trump said in letters to the leaders of each trading partner, posted on Truth Social on Saturday morning (Saturday night AEST).

The letters are the latest missives in Trump’s global trade wars, upping the ante in intensive negotiations aimed at lowering the tariffs before the first of next month.

Trump has made US trade deficits a key focus of the letters. He said he would consider lowering the tariffs if the EU offers “complete, open Market Access to the United States, with no Tariff being charged to us,” and if Mexico does more to combat drug cartels, which he said are trying to turn “all of North America into a Narco-Trafficking Playground.”

The newly announced 30 per cent tariffs would replace the so-called reciprocal tariffs of 20 per cent that Trump threatened on the EU on April 2, before delaying them until August 1. It would also replace the 25 per cent tariffs on Mexican goods that do not comply with the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.

It remains unclear if those USMCA-compliant goods would still be exempt from the Mexico tariffs after August 1, as the White House said would be the case with Canada, which Trump threatened with a tariff hike earlier this week.

A 30% tariff on EU exports would hurt businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.

We will continue working towards an agreement by August 1.

At the same time, we are ready to safeguard EU interests on the basis of proportionate countermeasures.

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 12, 2025

Trump’s threat to put a 30 per cent tariff on the EU comes after weeks of intense negotiations between US and EU officials. The bloc had hoped that reaching an outline deal with the Trump administration would avoid higher tariffs. It wasn’t immediately clear how the letter might affect the status of those talks, which EU officials had said they hoped would conclude before August 1.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who leads the bloc’s executive body, said the EU is ready to keep working to reach a deal with the US by August 1 and has consistently prioritised a negotiated solution.

“At the same time, we will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required,” she said Saturday.

Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 30pc tariff on goods from the European Union. Picture: Olivier Douliery / AFP)

The EU already has some retaliatory tariffs ready to use if it decides that is necessary. EU member states earlier approved a package of tariffs that would target 21 billion euros worth of U.S. imports, equivalent to about $25 billion, although those tariffs have been on hold during negotiations. The EU also proposed a separate package that it said could target up to 95 billion euros worth of US imports but hasn’t finalised that set of tariffs.

Wall Street Journal