Trump slaps 30 % tariffs on EU and Mexican goods after talks falter

President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered 30 % duties on imports from the European Union and Mexico starting on 1 August, ending months of inconclusive negotiations and deepening a tariff campaign that is already generating more than $100 billion in annual customs revenue for the U.S. Treasury.

The separate proclamations, posted on Mr Trump’s Truth Social account, cover “all categories not otherwise exempted” and follow fresh tariffs announced earlier in the week on Japan, South Korea, Canada and Brazil, plus a 50 % duty on copper.

EU officials had hoped to salvage a limited accord featuring zero-for-zero industrial tariffs, but diplomats said the bloc’s 27 members could not bridge differences between nations such as Germany, which sought a quick deal to protect its car industry, and France, which warned against conceding on U.S. terms.

The European Union exported goods worth €531.6 billion (about $585 billion) to the United States in 2024, while importing €333.4 billion, according to Eurostat, leaving Brussels with a €198.2 billion surplus.

Mexico—Washington’s second-largest trading partner—recorded two-way goods trade of $839.9 billion last year, U.S. Trade Representative data show.

The White House said the new levies were justified under Section 301 of the Trade Act, citing “persistent market-distorting practices” and the failure of both partners to offer “acceptable concessions.”

EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis called the move “deeply regrettable” and said Brussels would examine “all proportionate and WTO-compatible responses.” Mexican Economy Secretary Raquel Buenrostro said her government would “protect national interests using the USMCA dispute-settlement process.”

Analysts warned the decision could raise consumer prices in the United States, where EU and Mexican goods ranging from cars and machinery to cheese and beer account for more than one-quarter of all manufactured imports.

Mr Trump’s tariff drive has accelerated since his return to the White House in January. U.S. customs-duty inflows topped $100 billion in the fiscal year to June, nearly three times the level before the first Trump trade war in 2018, Treasury figures show.

Congressional Republicans are divided: some praise the tariffs as leverage for better deals, while farm-state lawmakers fear retaliation against American agriculture. The EU has already drafted a list of counter-measures targeting bourbon, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Florida orange juice, officials said.

With both sides signalling readiness for talks but no meetings scheduled, trade experts said attention will now turn to the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro in September, where European leaders and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will seek to re-engage Washington.

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