Free Republic

Calling the trade talks a stalemate, US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 50% tariff on the EU on June 1. European markets took an immediate tumble following Trump's social media post. US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he is recommending a 50% tariff on goods from the European Union, citing a stalemate in trade talks. "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 wrote on social media. In a post on Truth Social, Trump reiterated his criticism of...

So far, American consumers have been shielded from much of the impact. But as the world of international shipping adjusts to his policies, the president is facing a potential reckoning. With the US-China trade war starting to gum up container traffic between the world’s two biggest economies, freight companies are warning of plunging bookings and a surge in “blank sailings” – where ports are skipped or voyages are called off altogether. Earlier this week, America’s most powerful retail executives trooped into the White House to deliver a blunt prognosis: tariffs on Chinese goods risked causing “empty shelves” in two weeks...