12 July,2025 10:11 PM IST | Washington | mid-day online correspondent
Saturday’s announcements form part of a broader tariff campaign by President Donald Trump, which has become a cornerstone of his 2024 re-election bid. File pic
US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced sweeping 30 per cent tariffs on imports from the European Union and Mexico, escalating tensions with two of America's most significant trading partners.
The announcement was made through separate letters posted on Trump's Truth Social account, addressed to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
In his letter to Sheinbaum Pardo, Trump acknowledged Mexico's assistance in reducing the flow of undocumented migrants and fentanyl across the southern border. However, he insisted that the efforts were insufficient, warning that North America was at risk of becoming a "Narco-Trafficking Playground."
"Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough," he wrote, pointing to ongoing concerns over drug smuggling and border control.
In his message to von der Leyen, Trump described the United States' longstanding trade deficit with the EU as a national security threat. He criticised the bloc's trade practices, writing: "We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers. Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal."
The tariffs are due to come into force on 1 August. It remains unclear whether existing exemptions, particularly under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), will continue to apply.
Saturday's announcements form part of a broader tariff campaign by Trump, which has become a cornerstone of his 2024 re-election bid. The president argues that his protectionist agenda will restore balance to a global trading system that he claims has "ripped off" the US for decades.
By introducing reciprocal tariffs, Trump is effectively challenging the global trade framework established under agreements such as the Uruguay Round, which formed the basis of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Historically, the "most favoured nation" principle has required countries to apply uniform tariff rates to all trading partners. Trump's move, however, applies country-specific tariffs and undermines those multilateral norms.
With Saturday's letters, Trump has now imposed or announced tariffs on 24 individual countries and the entire 27-member European Union, signalling a dramatic shift in US trade policy.
(With PTI and ANI inputs)
