Posted on 05/23/2025 9:06:45 AM PDT by dennisw
As part of a flurry of posts on Truth Social on Friday morning, Donald Trump is now proposing slamming the European Union (EU) with a massive new tariff because of the "unacceptable" trade imbalance the U.S. has rung up.
Moments after threatening Apple and executive Tim Cook with a 25 percent tariff unless iPhones are made in the U.S., the president moved on to another threat certain to roil the stock market.
On Truth Social he wrote: "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."
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Complaining "Our discussions with them are going nowhere!" he announced, "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!"
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Sounds good.
The euroweenies being euroweeenies.
MSN is still around? They have, what, 15 in the audience?
Trumps tariffs are a moveable feast. The trade deficit is going down just by the confusions that Trumps up and down tariffs are creating. We have so much Chinese junk here, we are set for at least 5 years. We need to repair more and buy less from the ChiComs.
His timing is impeccable. Make an announcement sure to roil the stock market on a Friday before a holiday weekend. You get 3 days for the price of 2.
With such level headed reporting as “Trump flips out” …. Why would you think that?😂
“Negotiate in good faith, or we’ll kick you in the teeth.”
- Donald J Trump
MSN is big on the internet. This is Microsoft’s equivalent of Yahoo News. MSN carries lots of Fox News, so it is somewhat fair.
BTTT
Fine by me.
Last threat trying to get a deal done, so he’ll settle for less.
“Negotiate in good faith, or we’ll kick you in the teeth.”
*************
The EU weenies are playing a delay game, which is often part of negotiating. They know that Trump needs the tariff deals well before the mid-terms so they are using what little leverage they have.
This tariff business is extremely complicated and is going to take a very long time to play out. JMHO
Hey, weenie, Tariffs are what we used before the DNC hate-mongers pushed through a federal income tax. I adore a flat tax and force the government, state, city, and county to live inside of it. No more USAID, where Democrats go to steal and stay in charge. It was not until Feb 3, 1913, that the DNC-led states started their income taxes. I say pass a single-page bill outlawing city, county, and state income taxes and have a flat tax—% of a person’s income. Outlaw property tax, also. Progressive taxes stunt growth in America
The plastic shed i looked at was about $1000 a few months ago. now it it $2200. Not sure if it is tariff related as i wasn’t monitoring it that closely. Maybe when they sign something with China it will go down. I hope.
Yes the EU runs about a $300 billion trade deficit with China, and use the surplus with us to help balance it out. It is unfair trade especially the VAT tax (it’s basically a sales tax on every step of production and procurement - we don’t do that here we exempt wholesale and purchase for productions from sales tax).
They are not happy about our tech companies, most especially free speech. So they go after them. And they go after their own dissenters too - cancelling elections or cancelling political parties and even locking up people who are suspected of offending anyone - not just race or sex or politics or religion the UK locked up a dad and mum for being upset that their school board did not hold an open hiring call for a new headmaster and appointed a crony, then forced the parents to move their kid to another school because the new headmaster was offended and “felt unsafe”. The EU is a mess and a monstrosity. We can only do so much about their internal problems and philosophical disaobut we sure as heck don’t have to subsidize them.
This is what I voted for!
The EU is going to be a tough nut to crack, since it is governed by unelected bureaucrats that are not accountable to anyone.
Even Starmer, who is in theory accountable to his voters, spits in their faces every day.
Flips out?
“Flips out”? Editorialize much? Isn’t this supposed to be a straight news story?
Trumps words sounded perfectly businesslike to me — measured, matter-of-fact, effective. But then, I favor Trump and what he’s doing. Maybe if I hated him I’d say “flips out”, too.
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