Scaling the trade between the US – EU is yesterday’s (23.5.2025) threat of the US president Donald Trump on enforcement dictatorial 50% from June 1 at the expense of imports from the EU.
Donald Trump repeated his complaints about the EU yesterday, accusing the block of delaying negotiations and unjustly targeting US companies with lawsuits and regulations. The Republican has downgraded the EU’s ability to avoid a higher duties, which, he said, will come on June 1st.
«We have specified the agreement. It’s at 50%, “he said. “They don’t do it right,” Donald Trump told reporters at the Oval Office. “I just said it’s time to play the game the way I know how to play the game.”
At the same time, the president said a 25% potential duty of a post on Truth Social yesterday against Apple’s smartphones will also be applied to Samsung Electronics devices “and to anyone who manufactures this product”, and that his government is moving to impose duties by the end of June. “Otherwise it would not be fair,” Trump said.
Donald Trump’s threat has already triggered upset yesterday in European and US markets. Specifically, European markets fell with the Pan -European Stoxx 600 index closing at -1.86% and Dow Jones on Wall Street at -0.62%. At the same time, the euro rose new to the dollar (+0.75%) while bond yields declined.
Although the EU has not yet been given a formal response to the Trump threats, according to analysts, the great disruption can be considered according to analysts. It is recalled that Trump had announced 20% against the EU on April 2, and a few days later announced a three -month suspension until early July 2025. Since then only 10% duty. Consequently, there would be more than double duty (50% vs. 20% compared to the one announced in April) and the entry into force of 1 month earlier before the three -month suspension.
Analysts point out that if 50% US tariffs apply to the EU, they would be equivalent to US “embargo” against the EU as the EU is basically the EU extracting high -value industrial products (eg cars). For example, a 100,000 -euro car, taking into account a 50% duty in the US, would cost 150,000 euros versus 110,000 euros it costs today (with 10% duties).
Regarding the impact on the Greek economy of imposing 50% of the US duties, they would be very important. Specifically with 20% duties, analysts saw recession in the EU about 1% and barely zero development in Greece. A possible 50% US duty on the European market would bring a deep recession to the EU and a noticeable recession in Greece.
The other crucial question about the escalation of Trump threats against the EU is how the block will answer.
So far, all the EU has done is to publish a list of products (imported from the US) of which it could impose duties without even doing so.
At the table at the table there are measures such as taxation on US digital services. However, a possible actual (that is, not rhetoric) escalation of the US EU trade war could significantly squeeze the consultations between the same sides in NATO, in relation to the increase in the limit of defense spending of its members – 5% compared to the 2% today.
This is because at the same time that Europeans would lose tax revenue from their reduced production due to duties they would have to increase their defense and infrastructure spending, thus ejecting their deficits and debts.