US President Donald Trump has threatened a 50 per cent tax on all imports from the European Union as well a 25 per cent tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are made in the United States of America.
"The threats, delivered over social media, reflect Trump's ability to disrupt the global economy with a burst of typing, as well as the reality that his tariffs have yet to produce the trade deals he is seeking or the return of domestic manufacturing he has promised voters," reported The Associated Press about the move.
The Republican President said he wants to charge higher import taxes on goods from the EU than from China, Xinhua news agency reported. Trump was upset by the lack of progress in trade talks with the EU, which has proposed mutually cutting tariffs to zero even as the President has publicly insisted on preserving a baseline 10 per cent tax on most imports.
"Our discussions with them are going nowhere!" Trump posted on Truth Social. "Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50 per cent Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States."
That post had been preceded by a threat of import taxes against Apple for its plans to continue making its iPhone in Asia. Apple now joins Amazon, Walmart and other major US companies in the White House's crosshairs as they try to respond to the uncertainty and inflationary pressures unleashed by his tariffs.
"I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else," Trump wrote. "If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25 per cent must be paid by Apple to the US."
The core of Trump's argument against the EU is that America runs a "totally unacceptable" trade deficit with the 27 member states. Countries run trade deficits when they import more goods than they export.