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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Donald Trump announces 30% tariffs on goods from the EU and Mexico
Donald Trump announced on Saturday that goods imported from both the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% US tariff rate starting 1 August, in letters posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. The tariff assault on the EU came as a shock to European capitals as the European Commission and the US trade representative Jamieson Greer had spent months hammering out a deal they believed was acceptable to both sides. The agreement in principle put on Trump's table last Wednesday involved a 10% tariff, five times the pre-Trump tariff, which the bloc already described as 'pain'. EU trade ministers will meet on Monday for a pre-arranged summit and will be under pressure from some countries to show a tough reaction by implementing €21bn ($24.6bn) in retaliatory measures, which they had paused until midnight the same day. Related: Trump's 10% tariff on most UK goods 'here to stay', says Lord Mandelson In his letter to Mexico's leader, Trump acknowledged that the country had been helpful in stemming the flow of undocumented immigrants and fentanyl into the United States. But, he said, the country had not done enough to stop North America from turning into a 'Narco-Trafficking Playground'. 'We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers,' Trump wrote in the letter to the EU. 'Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.' Claudia Sheinbaum said on Saturday she is sure an agreement can be reached before Trump's threatened tariffs take effect on 1 August. Speaking during an event in the Mexican state of Sonora, the Mexican president added that Mexico's sovereignty is never negotiable. The higher-than-expected rate has dealt a blow to the EU's hopes of de-escalation and a trade deal and could risk a trade war with goods of low margins including Belgian chocolate, Irish butter and Italian olive oil. The EU was informed of the tariff hike before Trump's declaration on social media. In a letter to the EU, Trump warned that the EU would pay a price if they retaliated: 'If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs and retaliate, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 30% that we charge.' European leaders respond The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the 30% rate would 'disrupt transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic'. She said the bloc was one of the more open trading places in the world, and still hoped to persuade Trump to climb down. 'We remain ready to continue working towards an agreement by August 1. At the same time, we will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required,' she said. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, called on the bloc to 'resolutely defend European interests'. Expressing Paris's 'very strong disapproval' of Trump's announcement, Macron urged the EU to 'step up the preparation of credible countermeasures by mobilising all instruments at its disposal' if the two sides failed to reach agreement by 1 August. Germany's economy minister, Katherina Reiche, called on the EU to 'negotiate in a pragmatic manner', while the Federation of German Industries (BDI) warned that a trade conflict between the two partners 'harms economic recovery, innovation strength, and ultimately confidence in international cooperation.' Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, called for 'goodwill … to reach a fair agreement that can strengthen the west as a whole. It would make no sense to trigger a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic.' She added that both sides should avoid 'polarisation'. The decision to hike the tariffs will also be another test of Trump's ability to act in good faith in negotiations. Related: Young people don't feel part of the EU – and they're right | Francesco Grillo Brussels will view the latest threat as a maneuver by Trump to extract more concessions from the EU, which he once described as 'nastier' than China when it came to trade. Bernd Lange, the head of the European Parliament's trade committee, said on Saturday that Brussels should react immediately with countermeasures against Trump's 'outrageous' threat to hike tariffs on imports from the European Union. The EU had been negotiating intensively with Washington for more than three weeks and had made concessions, said Lange. 'It is brazen and disrespectful to increase the tariffs on European goods announced on April 2 from 20% to 30%,' Lange told Reuters. 'This is a slap in the face for the negotiations. This is no way to deal with a key trading partner.' While Trump indicated earlier this week that his new rates, also levelled against big economies including Japan, South Korea and Brazil, will not apply until 1 August, his latest tactic will create much distrust. Europe should make it clear that these 'unfair trade practices' were unacceptable, Lange said. 'We have postponed the first stage of our countermeasures for the time being, but I am firmly convinced that they must now be implemented immediately,' he said. 'The first list of countermeasures must be activated on Monday as planned, and the second list should also follow quickly.' Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, downplayed the impact of the threatened 50% tariff. Trump and Lula have indicated a willingness to negotiate, though Lula also said: 'Trump could've called, but instead posted the tariff news on his website – a complete lack of respect which is typical of his behavior towards everyone.' Even if Trump had agreed to the proposal put on his table on Wednesday, further negotiations would have been needed in any case to create a legal text that can be formally registered by the US government, a process that is itself laden with risk. The UK took seven weeks to get its agreement registered with a promise included to reduce tariffs on car exports from 27.5% to 10%, but the agreed zero tariff for the British steel industry was omitted. Related: Macron calls on EU to 'defend European interests resolutely' from Trump tariffs Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Congressional Budget Office director and president of the center-right American Action Forum, said the letters were evidence that serious trade talks had not been taking place over the past three months. He stressed that nations were instead talking among themselves about how to minimize their own exposure to the US economy and Trump. 'They're spending time talking to each other about what the future is going to look like, and we're left out,' Holtz-Eakin said. He added that Trump was using the letters to demand attention, but, 'in the end, these are letters to other countries about taxes he's going to levy on his citizens'. The new tariff ends a turbulent week for the EU with Trump announcing an extension for talks until 1 August on Monday, then on Tuesday announcing the EU would 'probably' receive a letter setting its new US tariff rate within 48 hours, claiming the bloc had shifted from being 'very tough' to 'very nice'. But diplomats viewed it as a mixed message as Trump stressed that he was still talking to negotiators from the bloc, but that he was displeased with European policies toward US tech firms. Sign in to access your portfolio
CBC
5 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Carney announces steel import crackdown
5 minutes ago News Duration 4:17 As part of efforts to support Canada's steel industry in the face of U.S. tariffs, Prime Minister Mark Carney outlined a plan to crack down on cheap, foreign steel imports.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. Lumber Coalition Responds to Prime Minister Carney Statement
WASHINGTON, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Prime Minister Carney and BC Premier Eby are advancing the idea of initiating trade agreement negotiations to set aside the enforcement of the U.S. trade laws against unfairly traded and unfairly priced Canadian lumber imports. Premier Eby makes clear that Canada wants the United States to voluntarily terminate these effective U.S. trade law cases in order to "secure jobs for Canadian workers." Canada does not under its own laws and policies voluntarily give up its remedies against unfairly traded imports from other countries but they are now asking the United States to do precisely that for their benefit. Effectively Canada is asking the United States to do a favor for Canadian workers at the expense of U.S. workers. Zoltan van Heyningen, Executive Director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition responded that "Canada does not simply get to choose whether or not it is subject to our trade laws. Antidumping and anti-subsidy duties are set to rise because the U.S. Department of Commerce has once again confirmed that Canadian lumber producers engaged in egregious and harmful unfair trade practices." "The United States has collected over $7 billion dollars and counting in duties directly from Canadian lumber producers as a result of these ongoing trade cases, and Canada's request to terminate these cases and refund money to Canadian producers would be the single biggest bailout of the Canadian lumber industry funded by U.S. taxpayers and would come at the expense of U.S. workers and loggers," added van Heyningen." Andrew Miller, Chair/Owner of Stimson Lumber Company, applauded President Trump for making strong U.S. trade law enforcement a key cornerstone of his America First trade agenda, stating that, "the strict and unyielding enforcement of U.S. trade laws by President Trump against ongoing Canadian unfair trade practices has resulted in massive investments in the United States to increase lumber production capacity, and we must do everything we can to continue this trend." "Canada's unsustainable excess lumber capacity and production, of which 60 to 70 percent must be shipped into the United States because Canada has no other viable markets, is the root cause of Canada's continued and harmful unfair trade practices," stated van Heyningen. "Not only is it critical to continue enforcing our trade laws to offset the harm of Canadian unfair trade practices, but it is also essential to implement additional measures under Section 232 to address the underlying cause of Canadian unfair trade practices," added van Heyningen. "This is why the U.S. Lumber Coalition strongly applauds President Trump's initiative to launching the Section 232 investigation and his strong commitment to further increase the domestic production of softwood lumber in the process." "We must not yield to Canadian demands to set aside our trade laws and have U.S. taxpayers fund the single biggest bailout of the Canadian lumber industry," concluded van Heyningen, "that would be nonsensical and a true injustice to U.S. workers, loggers, and families who depend on a strong and vibrant U.S. forestry industry." U.S. lumber industry and workers letter to President Trump on the need for continued strong enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to keep expanding U.S. lumber manufacturing and availability to build more American homes with American lumber. About the U.S. Lumber Coalition The U.S. Lumber Coalition is an alliance of large and small softwood lumber producers from around the country, joined by their employees and woodland owners, working to address Canada's unfair lumber trade practices. Our goal is to serve as the voice of the American lumber community and effectively address Canada's unfair softwood lumber trade practices. The Coalition supports the full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to allow the U.S. industry to invest and grow to its natural size without being impaired by unfairly traded imports. Continued full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws will strengthen domestic supply lines by maximizing long-term domestic production and lumber availability produced by U.S. workers to build U.S. homes. For more information, please visit the Coalition's website at CONTACT: Zoltan van Heyningenzoltan@ | 202-805-9133 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE The U.S. Lumber Coalition
CTV News
7 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘A step in the right direction': Sault Ste. Marie mayor reacts to PM's steel import announcement
Watch Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker says the steel imports restrictions will help 'protect steel workers and businesses that depend on steel worker wages.'
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Japan exports drop 0.5% y/y in June
TOKYO, July 17 (Reuters) - Japanese exports dropped 0.5% year-on-year in June, down for a second straight month, data from the Ministry of Finance showed on Thursday. The result compared with a 0.5% increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Imports grew 0.2% in June from a year earlier, versus a 1.6% drop expected by economists. As a result, the trade balance stood at a surplus of 153.1 billion yen ($1.03 billion), compared with a forecast for a surplus of 353.9 billion yen. ($1 = 148.0000 yen)
