President
Donald Trump
has warned of imposing a 50 percent tariff on all goods imported into the United States from the European Union and has explicitly stated his intention to unilaterally apply a 25 percent tax
tariff
on any
Apple
Unless the leading tech corporation in the United States starts production, products will not be made.
iPhones
inside the country.
Trump took to Truth Social to repeat his oft-stated false claim that the European Union was formed “for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on
trade
And he voiced his frustration saying that the 27-nation group “has been extremely challenging to work with” due to factors such as “strong trade barriers, VAT taxes, absurd corporate penalties, non-monetary trade obstructions, monetary manipulations, baseless and unjust lawsuits targeting American companies, among others.”
He complained even more about the fact that the U.S. has a trade deficit exceeding $250 billion with the EU—precise regarding manufactured items yet significantly exaggerated once services bought from America are considered—and labeled this as “entirely unacceptable.” He also mentioned that negotiations concerning trade with the EU aren’t making any progress.
He stated: “Hence, I propose imposing a flat 50% tariff on goods from the European Union effective June 1, 2025. No tariffs will apply if these products are produced or made within the United States. Thanks for considering this issue!”
Trump’s latest bellicose missive against America’s largest trading partner came just moments after he threatened to target America’s most valuable corporate citizen with a 25 percent tax on the the country’s most popular mobile phone unless it is fully manufactured within the U.S.
In a different post on Truth Social, he mentioned that he had notified Apple’s CEO.
Tim Cook
Long ago,” he “expects” that iPhones intended for the U.S. market will be “produced and assembled in the United States, rather than in India or anywhere else.
“If that isn’t how things stand, then Apple needs to pay a minimum tariff of 25% to the United States,” he stated.
Apple’s stock plummeted after Trump issued his threats.
The tech company experienced a decline of 3.5 percent in share value in futures trading.
However, it recovered by 2.8 percent during early trading after the president threatened the company in a post on Truth Social on Friday morning.
Trump’s post appeared to be a tacit admission that importers and consumers, rather than foreign countries, are responsible for paying the tariffs he has imposed and threatened to impose.
It remains uncertain how the president might legally enforce a tariff solely on one particular item being imported by just one firm since U.S. legislation stipulates that tariffs invoked through the president’s emergency trade authority must target entire classes of products or goods from certain nations.
However, should tariffs somehow be imposed on Apple’s mobile phones, Americans might have to pay an extra $200 for the base model of the iPhone 16, which starts at $799 for a version equipped with 128 GB of storage. Additionally, they would face an extra charge of up to $224 for the larger iPhone 16 Plus variant carrying the same amount of storage.
For the top-tier version of the iPhone 16 featuring 512GB of storage, an additional $275 might be tacked onto the base price of $1,099.
In 2024, the United States represents Apple’s biggest market for iPhones, constituting 44% of the company’s revenues as reported by Statista. Globally, iPhone sales made up 52% of all of Apple’s earnings this year, totaling $201 billion.
Furthermore, Trump’s suggested 50 percent tax on products coming into the United States from the European Union might impact various items originating from any of the 27 member nations within the EU. This includes everything from medications for treating numerous health issues consumed by Americans, to high-precision optics, electronic devices, and medical apparatuses, as well as drinks like wines, spirits, and cars.
Apparel, shoes, leather items, beauty supplies, and perfumes, along with stationery, hardware, sports gear, utensils, kitchenware, plus coffee, tea, and candy might also face these import duties. This increase could add up to an extra fifty percent, making essential goods more difficult for U.S. consumers to purchase.
Since the United Kingdom is no longer an E.U. member, British goods wouldn’t face the proposed 50 percent tariff.
The two early morning warnings sent shockwaves through U.S. futures and global stock markets, causing them to decline rapidly following the publication of these messages.
The president’s warnings about imposing additional taxes on American consumers marks another twist in an up-and-down series of events that started on April 2nd. On that day, he declared “freedom day” during his announcement in the White House Rose Garden and imposed significant tariffs on every imported item entering the United States.
Following declarations and counteractions led to import taxes from China — America’s third-largest trade ally — being bumped up to an impressive 154 percent, which swiftly fueled concerns about an economic downturn amongst investors and experts alike.
Later, Trump retreated and consented to reduce most of the tariffs to a rate of 10 percent, which remains significantly higher than any import duties imposed in almost a hundred years. Additionally, early last month, he asserted that both countries had concurred on measures to defuse the trade conflict he initiated merely weeks prior.
Yet the uncertainty caused by his on-again, off-again use of tariffs as a blunt instrument meant to coerce other countries and American companies into obeying his diktats have led anxious investors to seek shelter in other countries and the E.U., threatening the American dollar’s longtime status as the world’s reserve currency.
The continuous tariff dispute, coupled with decades of poor financial management by the U.S. Congress — mostly fueled by
Republicans
The emphasis on retrogressive tax cuts alongside increased expenditures financed by escalating debts led Moody’s to downgrade America’s credit rating for the first time in almost a hundred years last week.
The agency announced they were lowering it by one step from the top triple-A rating to Aa1 due to the significant budget deficit and elevated interest rates under the government’s management.
As part of this shift, Moody’s aligns itself with the other two primary credit ratings firms, which previously downgraded the U.S. at an earlier date.
In a statement, Moody’s indicated that they observed no genuine initiative from the administration aimed at reducing expenditures. They also anticipated that the country’s financial standing would decline relative to other advanced nations.
It was mentioned that President
Donald Trump
‘The imposed tariffs are likely to severely impede the country’s long-term economic expansion, with expectations indicating that the federal debt could climb to approximately 134% of GDP by 2035.’
“This single-step reduction from our twenty-one notch rating system indicates the rise over an extended period of more than ten years in the government’s debt and interest payment ratios, which have reached levels considerably above those for comparable sovereign entities,” stated Moody’s.
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