Trump threatens EU with 50% tariff on all goods

US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 50% tariff on all EU goods exported to the US, claiming trade talks “were going nowhere”.

The warning, which came in the form of a social media post, came just hours before the US and EU were set to have trade talks.

The American president also threatened to impose a 25% import tax “at least” on iPhones not manufactured in America.

Trump last month announced a 20% tariff on most EU goods, but had halved it to 10% until 8 July to allow time for talks.

“Our discussions with them are going nowhere!” Trump wrote in a social media post. He said the new tariffs would kick in on 1 June.

The EU did not immediately respond to the threat.

The 50% import tax will be higher on goods from the EU, a long-standing US ally, than from China, a geopolitical rival that had its tariffs cut to 30% this month so Washington and Beijing could hold negotiations.

The EU has insisted on cutting tariffs to zero even as the president has publicly insisted on preserving a baseline 10% tax on most imports.

Meanwhile, shares in the US and EU fell on Friday following the threat, with the S&P 500 down about 1% and Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac 40 ending the day down more than 1.5%.

Shares in Apple, which had won relief last month when Trump exempted key electronics including smartphones from his tariffs, opened more than 2% lower.

The EU is one of the US’s largest trading partners, sending more than $600 billion in goods to the US last year and buying about $370 billion worth, according to US government figures.