• President Donald Trump on Friday said he is “recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union” after complaining that trade negotiations have stalled.

  • The EU “has been very difficult to deal with,” Trump wrote. “Our discussions with them are going nowhere!”

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. 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. Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

  • martin4598@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    23 minutes ago

    The EU should use the Chinese method:

    The US puts 50% The EU puts 50. The US puts 100 The EU puts 100 Trump says “I´m waiting for them to call me” The EU doesn´t call. Trump says 10%

    Job done in 2 weeks.

    • Geobloke@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      27 minutes ago

      They could just say they’ll get rid of it and start a sales tax instead.

      But honestly the whole thing is just an excuse anyway

  • Naevermix@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    59 minutes ago

    This isn’t about forcing the EU to accept some unfavorable deal, it’s about devaluing the dollar.

  • ssillyssadass@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    2 hours ago

    He still doesn’t know what a tariff is.

    Also, I appreciate that every picture I see of Trump, even on official news sources, is an unflattering one. They always make sure to catch him with his mouth looking like what it is, that being an asshole.

  • Rakonat@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    13
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    5 hours ago

    Dude just wants to crater the US economy, specifically the stock market, and kill what credibility the US has thrived on since WW2. Can’t help but feel Putin has a finger in this cause a weak US makes Russia look stronger.

  • DominusOfMegadeus@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    46
    ·
    12 hours ago

    Christ on a cracker. We are not at war with anyone. Therefore every single one of these tariffs are illegal. He does not have the authority to be doing this shit and I am so fucking sick of it. Yes I am aware that the lapdog congress will do nothing to stop him. Yes I am still going to complain anyway.

  • InvertedParallax@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    42
    ·
    14 hours ago

    I need to explain to people why this is so amazingly stupid:

    You are literally giving Europe an excuse to put tariffs on American goods and services, which they want to anyway, to encourage domestic producers.

    Also, you’re making it easier for them to buy directly from south Korea, Japan and even China, especially since those countries can’t sell as easily to the US.

    For Europe this is an absolute win/win.

    But honestly, this sounds like a way for Trump to put pressure on Europe to back off on Ukraine, as he probably thinks the EU is reliant on US LNG, which is kind of isn’t really.

  • TheFrirish@jlai.lu
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    19
    ·
    13 hours ago

    The fact that we the EU are still trying to negotiate with the US is pathetic. We should not be entertaining this clique.

    • Gsus4@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      12 hours ago

      Allies on paper, EU can’t simply tell tramp to go fuck himself like China can, for now.

      • TheFrirish@jlai.lu
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        9 hours ago

        Good point but why do they get to tell us to go fuck ourselves then? We are also their allies on paper.

        • Gsus4@mander.xyz
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          3 hours ago

          Well, the alliance was not symmetric to start with, the US used to call the shots and the EU would follow if it wasn’t a stupid decision or sit on its hands otherwise. russia’s invasion and the US’s passivity is challenging that.

          • 3abas@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            4
            ·
            3 hours ago

            russia’s invasion and the US’s passivity is challenging that.

            Passivity? As in the US should do more than use Ukraine as a proxy, but should get involved in a war with Russia to defend Ukraine?

            • barsoap@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 hour ago

              As a lemm.ee user, you should be perfectly aware that if Ukraine is anyone’s proxy, then of Estonia: Ukraine is following Estonian doctrine on how to deal with Russia to a t.

            • Gsus4@mander.xyz
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              5
              ·
              edit-2
              2 hours ago

              All I’m saying is that Ukraine finally made strikingly clear that in the current configuration Europe is the junior partner in NATO and that Europe needs to have its own means in the future to defend its own interests (during the cold war, those interests were always aligned, so it was never a problem). But once that happens, Europe won’t remain the junior partner anymore.

  • perestroika@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    64
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    20 hours ago

    If he does that, the prices that rise most in the US will be medical products, medicines and motor vehicles.

    The EU does have a trade surplus in goods with the US. The US has a nearly comparable surplus in trade of services.

    If the EU were to respond by taxing US services harshly, we’d experience more expensive licenses and advertising costs. Year of the Linux desktop? Year of the dark red Google?

    • Amberskin@europe.pub
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      3 hours ago

      The EU will not tax products which are critical for the European economy until/unless there is a viable local alternative.

      What I expect the EU to do is to subsidise those fledging local alternatives. And yes, this is against WTO rules, but I guess nobody cares about that anymore.

      • hitmyspot@aussie.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        2 hours ago

        It certainly should. Of course they shouldn’t shoot themselves in the foot, like Trump is, but it’s like play chess with a pigeon. It’s not about normal tactics.

      • azertyfun@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 hour ago

        As a European software developer I would love to see that.

        Unfortunately I’m afraid those most likely to cry foul aren’t Americans, but the majority of European tech businesses who are either reselling MSFT bullshit or completely locked in AWS/Azure/GCP. Open-source/sovereign software services are the exception, not the rule.

  • rylock@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    152
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    23 hours ago

    Another decision that benefits no one except Russia. Their asset sure is paying off.