The European Commission has urged for the US administration to bring respect rather than threats to trade talks, following Trump’s push to raise tariffs on EU goods to 50%.
US President Donald Trump has recommended that higher tariffs be imposed on the EU from June 1st.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)There is currently a 20% tariff on all EU goods, as well as a 25% tax on all foreign-made automobiles imported into the US.
Trump has also singled out Apple, warning the company that he would impose “at least” a 25% import tax on any iPhones not manufactured in the US.
Deputy business editor at the Sunday Times Jon Ihle told The Anton Savage Show that a country’s leader directing punishments at a single company is “as far from a free market as I can imagine”.
“If you’re going to tariff an individual company, we’re not talking about tariffs anymore,” he said.
“We’re talking about penalties, we’re talking about punishments, we’re talking about inflicting a regime on industry and commerce that is really about who is in favour and who is out of favour.”
Mr Ihle said we are seeing the development of an economic regime in the US “which is the exact opposite of what made America great in the first place”.
FN4PP5 Saint Louis, MO, USA ? March 11, 2016: Donald Trump shows the thumbs-up to supporters at the Peabody Opera House in Saint Louis.“If you’re looking at America’s economic development over the 20th century, there’s a lot of reasons that it’s one of the richest countries ever in history,” he said.
“Part of that is its great military power and the influence it holds globally.
“But the other part is that companies were more or less left to do what they wanted within regulatory boundaries without having constant interference from powerful political figures.”
According to Mr Ihle, the world will keep spinning regardless of Trump’s tariffs, but “the question is, under what terms will it continue”.
Main image: President Donald Trump walks from Marine One with Air Force Col. Angela Ochoa, Commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, to board Air Force One to depart Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
