Donald Trump announced the introduction of 50% tariffs on goods imported from the European Union, set to take effect on June 1, 2025.
In justification, the U.S. president pointed to a deadlock in the ongoing trade negotiations with European partners, emphasizing that "our discussions with them are going nowhere."
The market reaction was immediate – Bitcoin recorded a drop of 2.5% to a level of $108,745 and the German and French indices fell by about 2%, the British FTSE lost over 1%, and U.S. futures on the Dow Jones and S&P 500 corrected by approximately 500 points and 1% respectively.
The European Union is the second-largest trading partner of the U.S. (U.S. imports from the EU: about $550 billion per year), so such a radical tariff could significantly disrupt global supply chains, raise consumer prices, and slow economic growth.