US President Donald Trump has given a serious threat to impose a 50 percent tariff on all imports from the European Union, and a 25 percent tax on Apple products, unless the iPhones are made in the United States.
As reported by The Associated Press, these threats, sent on social media, illustrate Trump's special ability to unsettle the worldwide economy with the simple click of a keyboard.
They also underscore the persistent fact that his protectionist tariff strategies have still not achieved the trade deals he seeks or restored the American manufacturing jobs that he promised voters.
The Republican party chief signaled his plan to impose higher import duties on EU goods than on China, Xinhua news agency reported.
Angered over paused trade talks with the European Union—despite the EU proposing to scrap tariffs bilaterally—Trump has refused to remove more than a minimum 10 percent tariff on the majority of imports.
"Our talks with them are going nowhere!" Trump said on his platform, Truth Social.
He went on to say, "Thus, I am calling for a flat 50 per cent Tariff on the European Union, beginning on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is made or produced in the United States."
It was a follow-up to a previous threat involving Apple, responding to the company's intention to continue manufacturing iPhones abroad in Asia.
Apple is now joined by other big US companies such as Amazon and Walmart in being pressured by the White House amid economic instability and inflation triggered by these tariffs.
Trump penned, "I have already made Tim Cook of Apple aware that I expect their iPhone's which will be sold in the United States of America will be built and manufactured in the United States, not India, or anywhere else."
He further added, "If so, a Tariff of at least 25 per cent has to be paid by Apple to the US."
At the center of Trump's disagreement with the EU is what he refers to as an "totally unacceptable" trade deficit between the United States and the 27-nation bloc—a scenario in which exports are overtaken by imports.
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