President Trump has announced a 50% tariff on European Union goods starting June 1, 2025, with exemptions for products built or manufactured in the United States of America.
President Donald Trump via Truth Social:
The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with. Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable. Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
MacDailyNews Take: Again, this is a negotiation parry. Clearly, with discussions “going nowhere” currently, Trump wants more from the EU than they are giving today.
The U.S. has leverage and recourse. We expect both to be used. – MacDailyNews, March 19, 2025
This EU tariff announcement is likely stated today so that the markets can have the three-day U.S. trading break to digest.
Expect turbulence in the markets until deals are reached and uncertainty is lessened. No pain, no gain.
Trump administration has been warning the EU against excessive regulation of American technology firms. On February 21st, President Trump issued a directive, “Defending American Companies and Innovators From Overseas Extortion and Unfair Fines and Penalties,” threatening to impose tariffs on Europe to combat what he called “overseas extortion” of American tech companies through digital services taxes, fines, practices, and policies.
See also: President Trump says Apple CEO Tim Cook called to complain about EU’s $17 billion in fines – October 17, 2024
The European Union arose because the Europeans couldn’t compete on their own with the rest of the world, so they each lined up to surrender their national sovereignty, unique cultures, and dignity for an undemocratic, opaque, wasteful, bloated, bureaucratic quasi-governmental blob – and, even with the EU’s thumbs all over the scale, they still can’t compete. — MacDailyNews, March 4, 2024
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America will be the ultimate looser with the manchild in charge…
It’s “loser,” loser.
America holds all of the cards, whether you like it or not.
Having cards is no good when nobody else wants to play with you…
Everyone wants to play in America, duh, but it’s PAY TO PLAY, finally.
As MDN posted on X just this morning:
Here is a list of the top 5 consumer markets by country, based on household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) in U.S. dollar value (consumer spending):
United States: ~$18.8 trillion
China: ~$7.0 trillion
Japan: ~$2.5 trillion
Germany: ~$2.3 trillion
India: ~$2.2 trillion
Add up the 2nd – 5th consumer markets on earth and they still total $4.4 trillion less than the U.S.
https://x.com/MacDailyNews/status/1925926909466071142
Mr. Brutal,
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/musk-said-he-was-chainsawing-government-spending-it-was-more-like-trim-2025-05-30/
The USA is bankrupt and digging itself deeper in debt at the consumer and at the federal levels. The current administration, despite its claims otherwise, is actually not doing what it takes to bring the spending under control. Your consumer budget numbers describe how great the Roman empire was on the day before the debt came due.
If you wanted to actually balance the federal budget, you wouldn’t play games with trading partners and claim it will make money forever. What the administration is doing is turning away future income as trading partners find other stable customers. And you wouldn’t try to push a 1000+ page tax bill littered with loopholes for the rich if you were trying to pay off accumulated debt. FIRST balance the budget with temporary tax increases on those who awarded themselves the majority of profits from the global trade, the billionaires and corporations sitting on huge piles of cash, and THEN wisely take the time to structurally reduce spending … and that will take more than 130 days of chainsaw theatrics. When, AND ONLY WHEN, a balanced budget is achieved and secured by a congressional amendment that forces spending to stay under revenue for the future, THEN you can start talking about tax cuts. It’s plainly obvious that the proposed tax bill is just more trickledown bullshit which will blow up the unsustainable budget even more than ever. It would make America poorer and weaker in the future, and you of course will blame the other party because that’s what the GOP has always done, even when its spending has historically been worse than the dumb donkey party.
How about that new Mac Studio? Is the M3 Ultra chip worth the $? Or is this site boycotting all Apple stuff due to its location of manufacture?
No, the USA does not hold all the cards.
Many other countries have the natural resources including rare earth minerals that are necessary for the products that YOU demand. No other nation is going to submit themselves to mob-like abuse when negotiating trade deals. They will be happy to sell their products and services to the other 95% of the people on the planet. The more belligerent the US trade negotiator (apparently there is only one), the more expensive raw materials will be for US companies, which actually UNDERMINES the administration’s effort to reshore manufacturing. Economists have already estimated that when Donny threatened a new 25% tariff on smartphones, apparently because Tim missed a meeting, Apple would have absolutely zero incentive to bring iPhone production to the USA, it would merely pass a 25% price increase to you. In addition to the years of expenses required to build the factory and hire and train new employees, the simple ratio of wage difference would make a US-made iPhone more than double in price. If Apple was to reshore any production, it would only make sense for simple final assembly of a low-volume elite ultraluxury product marketed to the top 1% wealthy clients whose gold-plated Apple Watches with Hermes bands have worn out. Such a move would do almost nothing to resolve the imaginary trade deficit, which the administration miscalculates by ignoring all the services that the USA produces and exports.
Steve Jobs said that the low-level manufacturing jobs aren’t coming back, and he was correct. Tim has only continued the same strategy that Apple took when it pivoted away from the Mac as the center of the digital lifestyle and instead pushed iOS-derivatives everywhere in all sizes, all nicely monitored on the iCloud to monetize ads and more services. You bought it, and you are continuing to buy it. If you want Apple to stop building iOS stuff in scary non-English speaking countries, then stop buying it.
Also, please stop posting articles that have nothing to do specifically with the Mac. The stupid brainless partisan bickering helps no one.
This will be the 9th session in a row AAPL will have closed lower, coming it at a total of $17, and down from the beginning of this year from $260.
What a POS.
Way too Trumpy MDN! Other nations will find new trading partners and the US will be weaker as a consequence
America just build a big beautiful wall around yourselves and let us know when you have wiped each other out. We will have a one second moment of silence. You voted for this ENJOY!