OAN Staff James Meyers
8:00 AM – Friday, May 23, 2025
President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose a 50% tariff on all European Union (EU) products starting June 1st, saying that Europe has been “very difficult to deal with.”
“The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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Meanwhile, the 47th president has only negotiated a deal with the U.K. and a preliminary deal with China after he announced the sweeping tariffs in April.
However, negotiations with several other countries are currently ongoing.
“Our discussions with them are going nowhere!” he said of talks with the EU.
“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.”
Olof Gill, a spokesperson for the European Commission, said he was waiting until after a call between Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer took place.
The commander-in-chief suggested last week that time is running out to make deals with all countries one-on-one. As a result, the Trump administration could begin package rates soon for other nations affected by the tariffs.
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