Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said that the U.S. would impose 30% tariffs on goods from the European Union and from Mexico, effective Aug. 1. The new tariffs are the latest salvo in ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and international trade partners.
According to reporting in The Wall Street Journal, Trump said he would consider lowering the tariffs under certain conditions. For instance, the tariffs could be lowered if the EU offers “complete, open Market Access to the United States, with no Tariff being charged to us,” and if Mexico does more to combat drug cartels, which he said are trying to turn “all of North America into a Narco-Trafficking Playground.”
It remains unclear if USMCA-compliant goods would still be exempt from the Mexico tariffs after Aug. 1, as the White House has said would be the case with Canada. Trump had threatened Canada with higher tariffs on some goods earlier last week, as well.
The Wall Street Journal reported that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who leads the bloc’s executive body, said the EU is ready to keep working to reach a deal with the U.S. by Aug. 1. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum also has been pushing for a framework bilateral agreement on trade with the U.S., the report said.
