How is the EU reacting? Trump announces 30 percent tariff on EU imports

The US and the EU have been negotiating the tariff conflict for months. Now Donald Trump is announcing new tariffs - and not just against the European Union.

DPA

12.07.2025, 18:59

dpa

US President Donald Trump wants to impose a 30 percent tariff on imports from the EU from August 1. The Republican announced this on his Truth Social platform.

In the published letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump threatened further tariff increases in the event of countermeasures. At the same time, he writes: If the EU is prepared to open its previously closed trade markets to the United States and eliminate trade barriers, an adjustment of the letter may be considered. The tariffs could be adjusted upwards or downwards depending on the development of relations.

The new tariff rate of 30 percent applies to all goods that the EU wishes to import into the United States. This excludes certain sectors for which Trump is demanding even higher surcharges. Previously, different rates applied to cars and car parts as well as steel and aluminum.

The letter threatens a further escalation of the trade conflict. The European Union and the USA had recently spent weeks in talks trying to find an amicable solution. The unilateral imposition of new tariffs now stands in the way of this.

Even after the announcement of Trump's latest tariff proposals, the EU Commission continued to strive for an amicable solution: Trump's letter has been acknowledged, announced Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. They are still prepared to work towards an agreement by August 1.

The introduction of tariffs of 30 percent on EU exports would disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains - to the detriment of companies, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic, the German politician added.

Von der Leyen emphasized that only a few economies worldwide are on a par with the European Union in terms of their openness and commitment to fair trade practices. The EU had always sought a negotiated solution with the USA.

At the same time, von der Leyen reiterated that the EU would take countermeasures if the US were unwilling to negotiate. As a first step, these will primarily be special tariffs on imports of US products into the EU.

In his letter, Trump also wrote: "The European Union will grant the United States unrestricted, duty-free market access without imposing tariffs on us in an attempt to reduce the large trade deficit." What exactly the US President meant by this initially remained unclear.

The USA is Germany's most important trading partner. With his tariff policy, the Republican wants to correct alleged trade imbalances and ensure that more is produced in the USA. In the global tariff conflict, Trump initially set a deadline of July 9 for new tariffs and extended this to August 1 days ago. The USA has been in talks with many countries in recent weeks.

In addition to the letter to the EU, Trump published a letter to Mexico. In this letter, he also announced an import surcharge of 30 percent on goods from the neighboring country from 1 August. He had already announced a series of new tariffs against certain countries in the past few days, most recently for imports from Canada and Brazil.

In the middle of the week, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed cautious optimism about the prospects of a settlement to the tariff conflict. At the same time, she made it clear that the EU was also prepared for the option of a further escalation of the trade dispute and that it would prefer to have no deal rather than a bad one.

On Monday, Trump was asked by a journalist whether he was optimistic about reaching a possible deal with the European Union. He had replied that they were probably two days away from an agreement.