United States President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that products from Mexico and the European Union (EU) entering the U.S. will be slapped with a 30% tariff. In two letters posted on the social media platform Truth Social, he threatened that the tax hike would be implemented starting August 1. 

In Trump’s missive to Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum, he acknowledged that Mexico has been assisting Washington in securing the border but justified the tariffs by saying that the country has not done enough to stop the drug trade. 

“Mexico still has not stopped the Cartels who are trying to turn all of North America into a Narco-Trafficking playground. Obviously, I cannot let that happen!” Trump wrote, recalling that the earlier tariffs he imposed on Mexico, which he later backtracked, were also due to the fentanyl crisis. 

Together with Canada, Mexico was the first target of the Republican’s tariff policy, as he announced an additional 25% tariff imposition on most Mexican imports just hours after taking office in January. In March, Trump announced that he would postpone the tax hike following a telephone conversation with Sheinbaum. 

“I did this as an accommodation and out of respect for President Sheinbaum,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social at the time. He added that he has a good relationship with Sheinbaum and they both are working hard on border security “both in terms of stopping illegal aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl.” He also thanked the Mexican president for her “hard work and cooperation.”

At the time, Sheinbaum thanked Trump and said that they would continue to work together, “particularly on migration and security issues, which include reducing the illegal crossing of fentanyl into the United States, as well as weapons into Mexico.”

The US trade deficit with the EU

In his letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump justified the tariffs on the trade deficit the U.S. has with the bloc. The EU is the largest U.S. trade partner, ahead of Mexico, China, and Canada. According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States’ goods-trade deficit with the EU in 2024 was US$235.6 billion. That number, however, dropped to US$161 billion when services were included. 

“We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and hace concluded that we must move away from these long-tem, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits,” he said, adding that the relationship has been “far from reciprocal.”

The announcement comes amid negotiations between the two on trade agreements. The EU was already preparing for a tax increase of at least 10% to be implemented last week. Trump’s announcement, however, extends the deadline until August 1.