Trump threatens 17% tariffs on food and farm produce exports from Europe [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Trump threatens 17% tariffs on food and farm produce exports from Europe

EU says it ‘favours a negotiated solution’ but is prepared for potential trade war with retaliatory duties

Lisa O'Carroll
Fri 4 Jul 2025 19.50 BST
Last modified on Fri 4 Jul 2025 20.41 BST

Donald Trump threatened to impose 17% tariffs on food and farm produce exports from Europe during talks in Washington this week, it has emerged.

Such tariffs would hit everything from Belgian chocolate to Kerrygold butter from Ireland and olive oil from Italy, Spain and France, all big sellers in the US.

First reported in the Financial Times, sources confirmed that the EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, was given the warning on Thursday when he met the US treasure secretary, Scott Bessent, trade representative Jamieson Greer and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.

EU ambassadors were briefed on the threat on Friday.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jul/04/trump-threatens-17-tariffs-on-food-and-farm-produce-exports-from-europe