WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump announced Saturday that a 30% tariff will be imposed on goods imported from the European Union and Mexico starting August 1, escalating trade tensions with two of Washington’s major partners.

In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump shared formal letters addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, notifying them of the new tariffs. He justified the move as a response to what he called “long-standing trade imbalances” and “unfair barriers.”

“To the European Union,” Trump wrote, “we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent trade deficits, engendered by your tariff and non-tariff policies.” He added that the US-EU trade relationship “has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal.”

Trump warned both parties that any retaliatory tariff increases would be met with further hikes. “Whatever the number you choose to raise them by will be added on to the 30% that we charge,” he stated.

In his letter to Mexican President Sheinbaum, Trump acknowledged recent cooperation in stemming the flow of undocumented migrants and fentanyl into the US but criticized what he called Mexico’s failure to prevent North America from becoming a “Narco-Trafficking Playground.”

The decision casts a shadow over ongoing US-EU trade negotiations, which Brussels had hoped to finalize this month.

The move also follows a fresh wave of tariffs announced earlier this week, including a 50% duty on copper imports and new penalties targeting Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Brazil. — Agencies