US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 50 per cent tariff<\/a> on all goods sent to the US from the EU<\/a> on Friday, raising fears of a renewed trade war.<\/a><\/p>\n Trump has also expressed frustration at delays in agreeing a deal with the EU, saying on social media that \u201cour discussions\u2026 are going nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Following a call with US trade officials, the EU\u2019s Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said that the 27-country bloc was \u201cfully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both.\u201d<\/p>\n But Sefcovic said that trade between the EU and US \u201cmust be guided by mutual respect, not threats\u201d and warned \u201cwe stand ready to defend our interests.\u201d<\/p>\n EU \u2018won\u2019t be bullied\u2019 by White House<\/p>\n Maxwell Marlow, director of public affairs at free trade thinktank the Adam Smith Institute, said that Sefcovic\u2019s statement was a warning shot that the EU would not be bullied into an unfavourable trade deal.<\/p>\n Marlow said the EU was playing harder ball than the UK in negotiations<\/a> over a trade deal with Trump and that an agreement would be \u201cmuch more complicated and painful for both parties\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir approach is less constructive to, let\u2019s say the Brits, because their market is larger, they\u2019ve got more members, they\u2019ve got more to offer,\u201d he told The i Paper.<\/p>\n There are a \u201cnumber of stumbling blocks\u201d in negotiations, Marlow said, predicting it could take years before a deal was reached.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EU wants to maintain their independent approach, they want to maintain connections with China. That\u2019s really important for them, and something the Trump team don\u2019t want. <\/p>\n \u201cThere will be disagreements over whether the US should actually be permitted to have access to the Customs Union, whether that is pharmaceuticals, big tech, and also stuff like automobiles and raw goods from the US.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the EU will want to maintain their regular their positions of regulatory superpower, which again, is difficult for Trump. There\u2019s a difference between the the ideology of regulation in EU and US. That\u2019s going to be the biggest stumbling block for both of these parties.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Maxwell said that Trump\u2019s abrupt threat of 50 per cent tariffs \u201cwill upset negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n Shanker Singham \u2013 CEO of consultancy firm Competere, former trade adviser to the UK\u2019s Trade Secretary and former adviser to the US Trade Representative \u2013 said the two parties were worlds apart in negotiations \u2013 and that the US felt the EU was \u201cnot negotiating in good faith\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EU has a history of anti-competitive regulations, agricultural protectionism and barriers in standards and other technical barriers to US exports going back forty years. It is not surprising that if they are unwilling to change any of those \u2013 and it certainly seems so from their offers \u2013 then a deal cannot be done, and Trump will escalate the tariff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe US administration feels that the EU is not negotiating in good faith since it does not suggest it is willing to change the major problems the US has. The EU will only enter the deal zone if they make a good faith effort to change some of the issues raised in their national trade estimate entry and they are very far from that.\u201d<\/p>\n UK could suffer in EU-US trade deal<\/p>\n Mr Maxwell said there could be \u201cknock-on effects\u201d from the tensions on to the UK.<\/p>\n \u201cOur two primary trade relationships are with the EU and US, so pass-through costs may go up for Brits importing from the EU or US in areas affected by tariffs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, if the UK can substitute goods bought by the US from the EU (and visa versa), we could profit as we could sell at a lower relative price, such as with, say, exporting complex steel manufactures.\u201d<\/p>\n Singham also warned that the UK could get caught in the crossfires of a US-EU trade war through its proximity to EU regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the UK is now outside the immediate line of fire, the closer the UK aligns to the very EU regulations the US most objects to, the worse the UK\u2019s situation will become, making any further tariff reductions unlikely,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Renewal of the trade war which commenced \u2013 and then climbed down \u2013 earlier this year could destabilise the global economy, impacting UK businesses and shareholders.<\/p>\n In April, Trump launched a trade war<\/a> which rattled global markets and knocked trillions off the stock exchange<\/a>. This included imposing 20 per cent tariffs on the EU.<\/p>\n Billions were wiped off the value of UK pension pots<\/a>, with fears that the turbulence could hinder the UK\u2019s economic growth<\/a> and push up inflation.<\/p>\n![\"European](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_132921048.jpg\")
Maro\u0161 \u0160ef\u010dovi\u010d warned the EU is ready to \u201cdefend its interests\u201d in trade with Trump. (Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert\/AP)<\/p>\n![\"Britain's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_246124083.jpg\")
Sir Keir Starmer said at the time that \u2018nothing is off the table\u2019 in considering how to respond to Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs (Photo: Ben Stansall\/AFP)<\/p>\n
![\"Donald](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_247552359.jpg\")
Donald Trump claims that about 70 countries are seeking to reach trade deals with the US since he announced high tariffs for American imports (Photo: Demetrius Freeman \/ The Washington Post via Getty Images)<\/p>\n