By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON/BERLIN/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced a 50% tariff on all European Union imports to the United States from June 1 and said a potential 25% smartphone charge would apply to all foreign-made devices.
Trump’s remarks rattled stock markets, with already struggling carmakers in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, seeing more of their value evaporate. BMW was down 3.7%, Volkswagen was off 2.6%, and Mercedes-Benz plunged 4%.
Elsewhere in Europe, the STOXX Europe 600 index fell by 1.7%. In London, the FTSE 100 closed down by 0.2% after initially dropping by as much as 1.5%.
In New York, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed down 1% as Trump signaled plans to impose tariffs on Apple, Samsung, and other phone manufacturers.
Claiming talks between the two trading blocs were “going nowhere,” Trump accused the European Union of taking advantage of the U.S. on trade.
“Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025,” he declared
“It’s time that we play the game the way I know how to play the game,” added the former real-estate tycoon-turned-president.
APPLE WARNED
He also had a word or two for Apple wiping approximately $70 billion off the company’s shares with a simple post on his Truth Social platform saying: “I have long ago informed [CEO] Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US.”
It appeared a tough comment to a man who he previously praised for promising him to invest $500 billion (with a b) in the U.S. over the next four years to construct new manufacturing facilities, Artificial Intelligence data centers, create 20,000 new jobs, and establish a manufacturing academy focused on workforce training.
Tim Cook “is learning the hard way that the president is serious about Apple making its products in the U.S.-ASAP—rather than potentially taking its sweet time by further expanding production in India,” commented Barron’s, the prominent U.S.-based financial outlet.
However, labor rates in the U.S. will make their products uncompetitive, with some suggesting that American-manufactured Apple’s iPhones would cost as much as $3,500.
Apple shares fell 2.6% on Trump’s comments, pushing the company’s valuation just below $3 trillion, still more than the annual Gross Domestic Product of numerous nations.
Apple won’t be alone. In remarks to reporters at the White House on Friday afternoon, Trump warned he would also impose a 25% tariff on Samsung and any other phone manufacturer that makes phones outside of the US, or, he said, “it would not be fair.”
Clearly, Trump wasn’t in the mood to avoid a fair or unfair trade war, which he believed was necessary to “make America great again.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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