While President Donald Trump may have envisioned his April 2 tariffs announcement as a “Liberation Day,” it's been more of a nightmare for most other people.
The tariff announcements placed a particularly high penalty on companies that manufactured in China, causing a scramble to figure out a way to make operational changes very quickly or risk losing billions.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook was one of these, publicly announcing that Apple would shift the manufacturing of iPhones sold in the U.S. from China to India — a change that enraged President Trump, causing him to threaten Apple with a 25% tariff if it did not move iPhone manufacturing to the U.S.
Trump also threatened Walmart after the company announced it would begin to raise prices during its recent earnings call. Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to protest Walmart's move, saying the retailer should “eat the tariffs” and “I'll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”
Naturally, President Trump's strong stances draw lots of reactions, and now another big change he's announced has caught the attention of CNBC personality Jim Cramer.
Image source: Getty
Trump's new threat for the European Union
Cramer took to X to address a new announcement on May 23, starting out by resharing a social media post from Trump and simply commenting, “Blindside…”
“The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with,” Trump wrote in his post.
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“Their powerful trade barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, non-monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against American 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.”
Trump went on to say that talks with the E.U. were not progressing well.
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“Our discussions with them are going nowhere!” he wrote. “Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Cramer commented further on Trump's statement, saying in a separate post, “And we're right back to the Walmart presidency: every day lower prices.”
But, Cramer seemed unwilling to start a panic, also saying, “So many people want to call a bottom. I think it is too early to do so.”
And later that afternoon, Cramer added another tweet with an even saltier take, saying “Good bond market trumps President Trump.”
Why Cramer is reserving judgment
The reason for Jim Cramer's reservation about a bottom is simple: President Trump has been consistent about making big statements in terms of tariffs and later changing his mind, seemingly on a whim.
After pushback, the president put his original tariffs on a 90-day pause. Despite China's tariffs at one point being at a devastating 145%, talks with the country have also changed that number to 10%. Including the fentanyl tariff, China tariffs are 30%.
So it makes sense for Cramer to say it's too early. If the president's behavior is a factor, the likelihood that the E.U. will actually pay the 50% tariff in the end is questionable at best.
Related: Jim Cramer sends blunt message on US debt risk to stocks
