Citing a lack of progress in trade negotiations with the European Union, President Donald Trump announced he will recommend a 50% tariff with the Union starting on June 1, 2025.

“Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable,” he wrote in a Truth Social post Friday morning.

CNN reports that the three major European stock market indexes fell sharply after Trump’s post: The benchmark STOXX 600 index was down 1.7%. Germany’s DAX fell 2.4% and France’s CAC index slid 2.2%. London’s FTSE index was down 1%. US stocks also slid, with the Dow opening lower by 480 points, or 1.15%.

Trump added that the EU has been "very difficult to deal with," and indicated that "it was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE."

He added, however, that there will be no tariffs on products built or manufactured in the U.S.

In response to the announcement, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin called Trump’s threat “enormously disappointing,” he said in a statement posted on X on Friday. “I welcomed the pause in tariffs until early July to allow for continued negotiations between the EU and the US, and ideally an agreed outcome.”

In a Friday post on X, French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said that Trump’s threats “do not help at all during the negotiation period between the European Union and the United States.”

“We maintain the same stance: de-escalation but are ready to respond,” he said in a post translated by CNN.