US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warns Trump tariff ultimatum could light a fire under EU trade negotiations | World News

US President Donald Trump’s plan to impose a 50 per cent tariff on goods from the European Union (EU) is meant to pressure the bloc to improve its trade proposals, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday.
Speaking to Fox News Channel, Bessent said Trump was not satisfied with the EU’s current trade offers and hoped that the proposed tariff, set to begin on 1 June, would push the EU to act.
“The president believes the EU’s proposals have not matched the quality of offers we’ve seen from other key partners,” Bessent said. “I would hope this would light a fire under the EU.”
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Bessent added that many other countries, including India and several Asian nations, were engaged in talks and had made meaningful offers. In contrast, he said discussions with the EU had not made the same progress.
The remarks followed a meeting of G7 finance miners in Banff, Alberta, where officials, including European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, discussed global economic issues. Despite disagreements over US tariffs, the group agreed on the need to address large economic imbalances.
“The conversation in Canada was fine. The problem was the lead-up to that,” Bessent said.

He also pointed to internal issues within the EU, saying that while the bloc is made up of 27 countries, they are represented a single body in Brussels, which creates delays. “The EU has a collective action problem,” he said. “Some EU countries have told me they aren’t even aware of the proposals being put forward Brussels.”Story continues below this ad
Bessent also commented on Trump’s warning that iPhones made outside the US could face a 25 per cent tariff. He said the president wants to encourage more manufacturing within the United States, especially for sensitive technologies.
“I think one of our biggest risks is relying on foreign production, especially for semiconductors,” Bessent said. “A lot of Apple’s components are semiconductors. We would like Apple to help strengthen our semiconductor supply chain.”
(with inputs from Reuters)
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