By Gavin Bade and Meridith McGraw
WASHINGTON -- President Trump fired new salvos in the global trade war on Friday, threatening a 50% tariff on imported goods from the European Union and new duties on iPhones made overseas.
Trump said the EU had been "very difficult to deal with" on trade in a Friday morning social-media post. Earlier Friday morning, he threatened Apple and its chief executive, Tim Cook, with a tariff of at least 25% on iPhones made overseas.
"I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else," he wrote on Truth Social.
"If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.," the president wrote.
The back-to-back posts built on the president's effort to pressure CEOs to move more manufacturing to America and punish allies whose trade policies the White House argues are unfair. Cook met with Trump at the White House this week, according to a White House official.
The White House didn't immediately provide additional comment. Apple declined to comment. An EU representative declined to comment. Apple shares fell 3.6% in early trading.
Trump initially imposed a 20% tariff on EU imports, which was later paused for 90 days to allow for negotiations. A 10% baseline levy remains, and some specific EU products, like cars, are subject to higher tariff rates.
The U.S. president has long criticized European nations on trade, and he said in his Friday morning social-media post that trade discussions with the bloc had made little progress. "Our discussions with them are going nowhere!" he wrote. He said the 50% tariff would go into effect on June. 1.
The EU has been unwilling to move on some of Trump's demands, particularly the value-added tax, which the administration views as an unfair trade practice, but EU Economy Minister Valdis Dombrovskis has said the tax is off the table in negotiations. This week, Dombrovskis needled the Trump team at a Group of 7 finance ministers meeting by saying their trade deals would be a "suboptimal" outcome for the global economy and suggesting that U.S. allies had to compromise with the U.S. on trade language in a joint statement.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš efčovič was expected to speak with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at 11:30 a.m. ET. The call was arranged before Trump's comments about higher tariffs.
During a meeting of finance ministers in Canada this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told EU officials they have a "collective action problem," warning that progress on reaching a trade deal with Europe had slowed because each nation has different priorities for an agreement, according to a U.S. official.
Bessent on Friday hit out at Europe again, saying on Fox News that "with the exception of the EU, most [nations] are negotiating in good faith."
Last week, Trump chided Cook for Apple's plans to shift final assembly for many U.S.-bound devices to India, and he reiterated his demands that the company bring manufacturing back to America. He called the CEO his "friend," but suggested that Apple's plan to invest some $500 billion in America wasn't enough.
After Trump raised tariffs on goods made in China, Apple accelerated its effort to make most U.S.-bound iPhones in India. Such a move would allow it to claim India as the "country of origin" and pay the lower duties facing that nation.
Technology experts have said that while shifting some iPhone manufacturing to America is possible, building the full stack of iPhone components and assembling it in the U.S. is impossible.
IPhones contain a patchwork of sophisticated parts, sourced from many countries and put together primarily in China. America doesn't have facilities that resemble the infrastructure developed in China, nor does it have skilled manpower to assemble iPhones at that scale.
Write to Gavin Bade at gavin.bade@wsj.com and Meridith McGraw at Meridith.McGraw@WSJ.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 23, 2025 10:02 ET (14:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments