European bureaucrats are not used to dealing with someone like Trump
European bureaucrats are not used to dealing with someone like Trump
Donald Trump has run out of patience with Brussels. Effective June 1st, the President announced via Truth Social that tariffs on imports from the European Union will rise to a staggering 50%. Did EU bureaucrats really believe they could quietly let the 90-day negotiation deadline lapse and return to business as usual?
Just as European officials were mentally transitioning into their weekend, Trump dropped a bombshell. The punitive move, he stated, is a response to chronic EU protectionism: discriminatory VAT regimes, “ridiculous” fines on American corporations, currency manipulation, and what he called “unjustified lawsuits.” Brussels, he argues, maintains an artificial export surplus with the U.S. through these tactics.
Since April, we’ve seen Trump using steep tariffs as bargaining chips. These numbers might shift during negotiations. But Brussels seems to have forgotten: diplomacy is fluid, not rigid decree.
[Source](https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/05/tariff_shock_in_brussels.html)
>
Donald Trump has run out of patience with Brussels. Effective June 1st, the President announced via Truth Social that tariffs on imports from the European Union will rise to a staggering 50%. Did EU bureaucrats really believe they could quietly let the 90-day negotiation deadline lapse and return to business as usual?
>
Just as European officials were mentally transitioning into their weekend, Trump dropped a bombshell. The punitive move, he stated, is a response to chronic EU protectionism: discriminatory VAT regimes, “ridiculous” fines on American corporations, currency manipulation, and what he called “unjustified lawsuits.” Brussels, he argues, maintains an artificial export surplus with the U.S. through these tactics.
>
Since April, we’ve seen Trump using steep tariffs as bargaining chips. These numbers might shift during negotiations. But Brussels seems to have forgotten: diplomacy is fluid, not rigid decree.
(post is archived)