LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - German 10-year government

bond yields briefly hit their highest since early April on

Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he

would impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the European

Union from August 1.

In an escalation of a trade war that has angered U.S. allies

and rattled investors, Trump announced his latest tariffs in

separate letters to European Commission President Ursula von der

Leyen and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that were posted

on his Truth Social media site on Saturday.

Benchmark Bund yields rose to as much as 2.733%

in early trading, their highest since April 1, a day before

Trump's original "Liberation Day" tariff reveal. They retreated

to hold steady on Friday's close at 2.726%.

Thirty-year yields traded around 3.236%, up

around 1 basis point on the day and within sight of their

highest since mid-March.

"The latest tariff threats of 30% on EU goods are above the

upper end of the recently discussed ranges, but with

negotiations still progressing until the 1 August deadline, any

risk-off and subsequent support for Bunds looks set to be

limited at best," Commerzbank rates strategist Hauke Siemssen

said.

"After all, Trump has repeatedly threatened substantial

tariffs but extended deadlines in the subsequent days. The

threats over the weekend can therefore probably be considered

well in line with Trump's usual playbook," he said.

For its part, the EU has already prepared a list of tariffs

worth 21 billion euros ($24.5 billion) on U.S. goods if the two

countries fail to reach a trade deal, Italian Foreign Minister

Antonio Tajani said in a newspaper interview on Monday.

French 10-year bond yields edged up to 3.417%,

while 30-year yields rose 1.5 bps to 4.216%, after President

Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced a plan to push forward

defence spending, pledging to double the military budget by

2027, three years earlier than originally planned. His

government is already struggling to make 40 billion euros in

savings in its 2026 budget.