Trump Blurts Out New Tariff Bombshell That Instantly Craters Stock Futures

President Donald Trump threw up a social media post announcing a new trade bombshell that instantly cratered stock futures Friday morning.

Trump’s wild swings on trade policy have roiled markets for months, and settled dramatically after he backed off of his trade war with China.

But on Friday morning, Trump suddenly dropped another pair of shoes in a series of Truth Social posts.

First, he threatened to slap a 25 percent duty on iPhones made in China.

Minutes later, Trump wrote:

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. 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. Our discussions with them are going nowhere! 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!

The news was instantly followed by steep drops in major stock futures indices. The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 500 points in a matter of minutes.

Trump scored a long-awaited victory when he announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom earlier this month, then held an Oval Office photo op complete with a call-in from U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. While experts derided the deal as insubstantial, it calmed markets, and Trump’s announcement of a tariff truce with China further rallied the financial sector.

The announcement comes the morning of a long holiday weekend, which means that Friday’s trading will have three days to marinate before the market opens again on Tuesday.