Trump: I'm not looking for a deal with the EU, it's already decided - 50 percent tariff

US President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to impose a 50 percent tariff on goods from the European Union, citing the lack of progress in current trade negotiations as the reason.

"Their strong trade barriers, VAT, ridiculous fines for corporations, non-tariff barriers to trade, currency manipulation, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against American companies, and much more have resulted in a trade deficit with the US of over $250 million per year - a completely unacceptable figure," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"Therefore, I propose to impose a direct tariff of 50 percent on the European Union, starting from June 1, 2025," he added.

🇺🇸 Trump said he isn't expecting a trade deal with Europe. Instead, he's pushing for European companies to relocate manufacturing to the United States or face a 50% import tariff.#Tariff #Europe #Trump #TradeDeal #european pic.twitter.com/y1ULuK1ouM

— OsintWorld 🍁 (@OsiOsint1) May 23, 2025

Later in the day, during the signing of an executive order in the Oval Office, the American leader further reinforced his message to the EU.

"I'm not looking for a deal. We've already made the deal and it's 50 percent," Trump said.

Read too Trump threatens EU and Apple, US stock markets immediately fall

However, he left open the possibility of extending the June 1 deadline, saying that "if someone comes and wants to open a factory here, we can talk about a small extension."

Trump added that EU member states have banded together to take advantage of the US.

Olof Gill, a spokesman for the European Commission, declined to immediately comment on Trump's statement, saying he was waiting for the conclusion of talks between Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commissioner for Trade, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Gill did not give a precise timeframe for the talks. /Telegraph/