President Donald Trump announced that, starting August 1, he will impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union (EU).

Through a pair of messages posted separately on the Truth Social platform, the 79-year-old Republican notified Claudia of his decision Sheinbaum Pardo, President of Mexico; and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

Regarding his neighbor on the southern border, Trump complained that fentanyl trafficking continues to be active despite the alleged efforts of the Mexican government and authorities to eradicate it, so he will raise the tax on its imports destined for the US market from 25 to 30%.

"Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT what it has done is not enough. Mexico has not yet stopped the cartels that try to turn all of North America into a playground for drug trafficking," he wrote.

It should be noted that President Sheinbaum and her team of collaborators had managed to contain the tariffs announced at the beginning of the year by the US president, prioritizing the trade agreement that, since 2020, the United States, Canada and Mexico established, which is known as T-MEC.

However, it is now unknown whether he will hide behind it again or if there is some clause to ignore it and impose trade sanctions as Trump wishes.

Regarding the New York magnate's announcement directed at the EU, the US president again expressed his disagreement with the way in which European countries have benefited the most and demands a renegotiation.

"We have had years to discuss our trade relationship with the European Union, and we have concluded that we must move away from these large, persistent, and long-term trade deficits engendered by your tariff and non-tariff policies and trade barriers," he emphasized.

In response, Ursula von der Leyen,announced that it will continue negotiating with Trump to avoid causing significant damage to European businesses and, consequently, to consumers.

“We will continue working to reach an agreement before August 1. At the same time, we are prepared to safeguard the interests of the EU with proportionate countermeasures,” it said in a statement.

It should be noted that, at the beginning of this week, Trump, in addition to threatening Canada with imposing a 35% tariff on its imports, announced to a dozen countries—mostly Asian—that, if they did not sign new trade agreements, he would significantly increase the tariffs on their products.