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Trump 'Not Looking For a Deal' on 50% EU Tariff: Full Q&A
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May 23, 2025
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10:47Now PlayingPresident Trump answers questions on trade negotiations and his administration's move to bar Harvard from bringing in foreign students as he signs an executive order on reviving nuclear power.
President Donald Trump dug in on his threat to impose a 50% tariff on the European Union and said a potential 25% charge on imported Apple Inc. smartphones would also apply to Samsung Corp. devices if they do not move production to the US.
Trump said Friday in a social media post that the higher charge on the EU would start on June 1 because “our discussions with them are going nowhere,” adding that he saw the bloc as “very difficult to deal with.”
The president later downplayed the EU’s ability to broker a lower rate, complaining about its trade practices and negotiating tactics and stating “I’m not looking for a deal. I mean, we’ve set the deal. It’s at 50%.”
“They don’t go about it right,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I just said, it’s time that we play the game the way I know how to play the game.”
The president’s initial comments rattled global finacial markets. Equities dropped, with the S&P 500 Index sinking about 1% before paring losses after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said several trade deals may be struck in the coming weeks. Apple led a selloff in tech, falling 2.5%.
“The president was getting frustrated with the EU,” Bessent said on Bloomberg Television after Trump’s message. Earlier on Fox News, Bessent expressed hope “this would light a fire under the EU.”
Bessent did not make similar comments this week during a Group of Seven finance ministers’ meeting and appeared keen on improving relations with Europe, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Separately, Trump posted that he already told Apple the company’s popular smartphones should be made in the US and that he was nonplussed by its effort to partially move production from China to India. The comments came days after a meeting between the president and Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, which was disclosed by a White House official.
The president’s missives represented a fresh round of trade brinkmanship, after previously indicating he was looking to wind down talks with partners over his April 2 duties, which he paused for 90 days to allow for negotiations. Trump’s attention this week has mostly been focused on a massive tax and spending package currently being considered by the US Congress.
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