President Donald Trump has published two letters on his social media platform that announce new tariffs on the European Union and Mexico that will enter into force on August 1.
Trump will impose a 30% rate in Mexico because the fentanyl crosses the border, he told the Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum.
“Mexico has been helping me to ensure the border, but what Mexico has done is not enough. Mexico has not yet stopped the posters that are trying to convert North America into a drug trafficking playground,” Trump wrote in the letter.
Mexico did not face a new rate on April 2, on the day of the so -called Trump’s “Liberation Day” rate. There is a 25% rate on goods not compatible with the USMCA of Canada and Mexico, as well as a 50% rate on steel, aluminum and derived products.
The United States mainly imports vehicles, machinery and electrical equipment, along with agricultural products such as fruits, vegetables, beer and liquors from Mexico.
President Donald Trump talks to the media when he arrives at the White House, on June 9, 2025, in Washington, DC
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Trump said the EU will also face a 30% rate as a result of the United States commercial deficit, in a letter addressed to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The EU, one of the largest commercial blockages with the US, mainly exports pharmaceutical products and appliances to the US.
According to the Office of the United States Commercial Representative, the Commercial Deficit of Ee. UU. With the European Union was $ 235.6 billion in 2024, an increase of 12.9 % over 2023.
Trump has long promoted productive conversations that left him “extremely satisfied” with respect to a commercial agreement with the EU; However, at one time, he once threatened tariffs up to 50%.
In his letters, Trump again promised that there would be no tariffs in manufacturing companies that decide to build in the United States.
The president of the European Commission responded on Saturday by saying that the 30% rate “would harm companies, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.”
“We will continue working for an agreement before August 1,” said Von der Leyen. “At the same time, we are ready to safeguard EU’s interests on the basis of proportional countermeasures.”
In a statement published in X, Mexican Economic Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that Mexico had already been negotiating with the United States to “protect companies and jobs.”
“They informed us that, as part of the deep changes in the United States commercial policy, all countries will receive a letter signed by the president of the United States that establishes new rates from August 1,” said Ebrard. “We affirmed at the meeting that this was an unfair treatment and that we did not agree with that.”
