Trump Announces 30% Import Tariffs on European Union and Mexico

US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced a 30 percent tariff on goods from Mexico and the European Union starting August 1, intensifying trade tensions with two of the country's top economic partners.

- CORRESPONDENT

In separate letters posted on Truth Social, Trump informed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about the tariff decision, citing border security and trade imbalances as key reasons, according to The Hill.

In his letter to Sheinbaum Pardo, Trump referenced the ongoing fentanyl crisis as a major concern behind the decision. "Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough," the president wrote.

As The Hill noted, the US had previously imposed a 25 percent tariff on Mexican goods, though Trump later exempted items covered under the 2020 US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. It remains unclear whether those exemptions will still apply after the new tariffs take effect on August 1.