Any hopes for a quiet session ahead of the U.S. holiday weekend were dashed Friday morning after President Trump unexpectedly reignited trade tensions, threatening sweeping tariffs on both the European Union and Apple.
In a blunt Truth Social post, Trump declared that talks with the EU had stalled and announced a proposed 50% tariff on all EU imports starting June 1.
“The European Union has been very difficult to deal with,” he wrote. “Our discussions with them are going nowhere!”
He didn’t stop there. The president also targeted Apple (AAPL), stating that if iPhones sold in the U.S. aren’t made domestically, they should be hit with a 25% import tariff. “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones … to be manufactured in the U.S., not India or anyplace else,” Trump said.
The markets responded instantly. U.S. stock futures, previously modestly higher, turned sharply lower — down nearly 2% — while Apple shares dropped 3.6%.
Bitcoin, which had been trading above $111,000 before the post, slipped to $108,600 in a matter of minutes, as traders scrambled to price in renewed geopolitical risk and policy uncertainty.
What was shaping up as a routine low-volume day suddenly became a flashpoint for global market volatility, with Trump once again proving he can move markets with a single post.
