U.S. President Donald Trump threatened once again on Friday to ramp up his trade war, recommending a 50% tariff on European Union goods starting June 1 and warning Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab he may impose a 25% tariff on any iPhones manufactured outside the U.S.

The twin threats, delivered via social media, roiled global markets after weeks of de-escalation had provided some reprieve. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% in early trading, the Nasdaq fell 1.5%, and European shares fell 1.1%.

Trump's latest broadside against the EU stemmed from his frustration at the lack of progress in trade talks with the bloc. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Friday that the 50% threat will hopefully "light a fire under the EU," adding that other countries have been negotiating with Washington in good faith.

"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 on his Truth Social site. "Our discussions with them are going nowhere!"

The European Commission on Friday declined to comment on the new threat, saying it would wait for a phone call between EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and his U.S. counterpart Jamieson Greer scheduled for Friday.

Envoys from the 27 EU countries are also due to meet on trade in Brussels later in the day.

Trump's stop-and-start global trade war has rattled markets, sapped U.S. consumer and business confidence and raised investor fears of inflationary pressures and a global economic downturn.

In response to falling markets, the White House paused most of the punishing tariffs that Trump announced in early April against nearly every country in the world, leaving in place a 10% baseline tax on most imports. He also cut a massive 145% tax on Chinese goods to 30%.

"What is somewhat of a surprise is the fact that the EU will now face a considerably higher tariff rate than China, an almost unthinkable scenario just a matter of weeks ago," said Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter. "It is highlighting that much of this policy is designed to be punitive, rather than having any economic credibility to it."

Source: Reuters