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Trump says 30-percent tariffs against EU and Mexico to begin on August 1 | Business and Economy News


This marks an increase of 5 percent and 10 percent on Mexican and EU goods respectively.

United States President Donald Trump has imposed a 30-percent tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1, weeks after negotiations with the major trading partners failed to reach a more comprehensive trade deal.

Trump, who announced the new tariffs on two of the USโ€™s biggest trade partners in separate letters posted to his Truth Social platform on Saturday, said they were due to what he said were Mexicoโ€™s role in undocumented migration and illicit drugs flowing into the US and a trade imbalance with the EU, respectively.

Earlier this week, Trump issued new tariff announcements for more than 20 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Canada and Brazil, as well as a 50-percent tariff on copper.

The duties are higher than the 25-percent levy Trump imposed on Mexican goods earlier this year โ€“ although products entering the US under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement are exempted.

The EU tariff is also markedly steeper than the 20-percent tax Trump unveiled in April.

In response, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is prepared to take the necessary steps to safeguard its interests, โ€œincluding the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.โ€

Von der Leyen said in a statement that the bloc remained ready โ€œto continue working towards an agreement by August 1โ€.

Three other EU officials told the Reuters news agency that Trumpโ€™s threat of an EU tariff is a negotiating tactic.

The EU, alongside dozens of other economies, had been set to see its US tariff level increase from a baseline of 10 percent on Wednesday, but Trump pushed back the deadline to August 1 just days before the elevated rates were due to take effect.

The 27-country bloc is under conflicting pressures as powerhouse Germany urged a quick deal to safeguard its industry, while other EU members, such as France, have said EU negotiators should not cave into a one-sided deal that only benefits the US.

Canada earlier received a similar letter setting out 35-percent tariffs on its goods, while Trump has threatened to impose a 50-percent tariff on goods made in Brazil, in retaliation for the โ€œwitch-huntโ€ trial against his far-right ally former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing prosecution over his alleged role in a plot to overturn the countryโ€™s 2022 election.

Trumpโ€™s cascade of tariff orders since returning to the White House in January has begun generating tens of billions of dollars a month in new revenue for the US government. US customs duties revenue shot past $100bn in the federal fiscal year to June, according to US Treasury data on Friday.

But the global economy and markets have been on a rollercoaster that seems set to continue for the foreseeable future.



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