Stocks Slump After Trump Raises Tensions With EU Tariff Threats

By Brett Rowland | The Center Square

(Worthy News) – U.S. markets declined Friday after President Donald Trump threatened a fresh wave of tariffs on imports from the European Union and on smartphones.

The Dow fell 256.02 points, down 0.61%, while the S&P 500 dropped 39.19 points, or 0.67%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 188.53 points, or 1% on Friday.

Trump singled out iPhone maker Apple in a social media post Friday morning. Saying that the company’s signature product could face 25% tariffs alongside smartphones from other companies that build the products in other countries.

Apple shares dropped 3% on the news.

Trump also threatened the EU, a bloc of 27 countries, with 50% tariffs. He said negotiations with the bloc had stalled. Trump clarified some of those comments Friday afternoon in the Oval Office.

Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, said he spoke with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Friday.

“The EU’s fully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both,” Šefčovič wrote in a social media post. “@EU_Commission remains ready to work in good faith. EU-US trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats. We stand ready to defend our interests.”

A tariff is a tax on imported goods. The importer pays the tax to the federal government and can either absorb the loss or pass the cost on to consumers through higher prices.

Economists, businesses and some publicly traded companies have warned that tariffs could raise prices on a wide range of consumer products.

Trump has said he wants to use tariffs to restore manufacturing jobs lost to lower-wage countries in decades past, shift the tax burden away from U.S. families, and pay down the national debt.

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