Donald Trump gives no respite to rivals or allies in his back and forth on import tariffs. Now, he will impose new tariffs of 30% on his main geopolitical ally and his southern neighbor, citing the role of the Latin American country in the arrival of illegal drugs to the United States, and an alleged trade imbalance with the Old Continent bloc.
More tariffs starting in August
On Saturday morning, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, confirmed that new tariffs equivalent to 30% of their value will be imposed on products arriving via imports from both Mexico and the European Union.
Through his official Truth Social account, the proxy of the White House assured that this increase in the tariff rate will come into effect as of August 1, surely as part of a strategy to “invite” his historical commercial partners to negotiate.
The cartels are to blame
In his publication, the US tycoon tried to justify the tariffs on his southern neighbor, blaming it for its alleged role in bringing illegal drugs and narcotics into the United States, which is why he decided to increase taxes, citing the “fentanyl crisis”.
In Trump’s words, “caused in part by Mexico’s failure to stop the cartels, made up of the most despicable people to ever set foot on Earth.”
The White House proxy further elaborated on this topic, noting that “Mexico has helped me keep the border secure, BUT, what Mexico has done is not enough. Mexico has not yet stopped the cartels that want to turn all of North America into a drug trafficking playground. Clearly, I can’t let that happen.”
Thus, as of the first day of August, a new 30% tariff on Mexican products will go into effect, with additional levies on certain economic sectors, and a higher tariff increase is expected for those products that attempt to evade these taxes.
However, the president assured that “there will be no tariffs if Mexico or its companies decide to build or manufacture products inside the United States and, in fact, we will do everything possible to have it approved quickly, professionally and routinely in a matter of weeks”.
Trump’s publication ends with a warning to the Mexican government: “If Mexico decides to raise tariffs in response, whatever the increase, this figure will be added to the 30% U.S. tariff”.
This new tariff on Mexican imports exceeds the originally imposed and applied tariff of 25%. Products covered by the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), continue to be part of the list of those exempted from the new taxes.
The European Union responds
The case of the European Union has its own separate complexity. This new 30% tariff is a clear increase over the 20% announced by Donald Trump in early April.The Old Continent’s economic bloc had expected a 10% increase in U.S. tariffs by early July.
However, Donald Trump extended the deadline to August 1, in the hours before the new levies were due to take effect.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed strong criticism of the new tariffs announced from Washington, although she left the door open for the European Union and the United States to work on a mutually beneficial trade agreement.
“Imposing 30% tariffs on EU exports would disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic,” the European official explained in a statement.
“We remain ready to continue work towards an agreement before August 1. At the same time, we will take all necessary measures to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if necessary,” she added.