President Donald Trump on Friday said he is "recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union " after complaining that trade negotiations have stalled.
The steep new import duties would start June 1, Trump wrote on Truth Social .
The EU "has been very difficult to deal with," Trump wrote of the 27-nation bloc. "Our discussions with them are going nowhere!"
Asked later Friday if he was looking to cut a deal with the EU in the next nine days, Trump said he was not.
"I just said, it's time that we play the game the way I know how to play the game," he said during an executive order signing event at the White House.
"I'm not looking for a deal," added Trump, who frequently praises tariffs as a clutch negotiating tool and a way to bring in federal revenue.
"I mean, we'