The US will impose 30% tariffs on all imports from the EU and Mexico from Aug. 1, a development that is expected to impact trade in key commodities including steel and energy, as well as automotive products, as per Chemweek.
The 30% tariffs were announced by US President Donald Trump in letters sent to the presidents of Mexico and the EU, which he posted on Truth Social July 12. The EU and Mexico are the leading trade partners of the US.The US is the EU’s second-largest export market for steel, while Mexico leads exports of automotive products to the US.In the letter to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump said Mexico “still has not stopped the cartels,” and as a result, the US will start levying the tariffs. However, he added there will be no tariffs on Mexico if it builds or manufactures products in the US.Similarly, Trump in his letter to EU President Ursula von der Leyen said the US had decided to end its trade deficit with the bloc and would go ahead with the tariffs, unless the EU decides to build or manufacture products in the US.It was not clear if the current tariffs on Mexico would conflict with exemptions on trade of goods signed under the USMCA trade agreement.Both letters mentioned that these tariffs are separate from the “sectoral tariffs” and any “good transhipped to evade this higher tariff will be subjected to that higher tariff.”In the week starting July 7, Trump sent letters to several countries imposing a varied range of tariffs on its key trade partners, including Canada, another key supplier of commodities such as steel, natural gas, and beef.
mrchub.com