The US president has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on imports from the EU.
President Donald Trump has accused the EU of being created to disadvantage the US and threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all goods entering the US from the bloc.
Trump’s statements were made during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday. Trade tensions between the US and EU have been rising since Trump announced plans to introduce a range of import duties in an attempt to address what he perceives as a trade imbalance.
“Let’s be honest, the European Union was formed to screw the United States, that’s the purpose of it,” Trump stated during the meeting. “And they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.”
He reiterated his administration’s intention to implement tariffs on EU imports “very soon.”
“It will be 25%, generally speaking, and that will be on cars and all other things,” Trump said, characterizing the EU as “a different case than Canada… they’ve really taken advantage of us in a different way.”
The US and EU were previously embroiled in a trade dispute during Trump’s first term, when he imposed tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum imports from Europe, prompting retaliatory measures from the EU. Trump also threatened tariffs on European automobiles, although these were never implemented. In total, the two entities exchanged duties on goods valued at over $10 billion.
As part of his current tariff initiative, Trump has imposed 25% duties on all steel and aluminum imports from the EU beginning March 4, in addition to existing tariffs. He has also instructed Howard Lutnick, his nominee for US trade representative and commerce secretary, to propose new levies on a country-by-country basis by April 1 to rebalance trade.
Since assuming office on January 20, Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% on Chinese goods, citing concerns regarding illegal immigration and drug trafficking. However, following discussions with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, these tariffs have been postponed for 30 days after both countries committed to enhancing border security.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticized the latest US tariffs, expressing “deep regret” over the decision. Earlier this month, she stated that the levies on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered.”
When asked on Wednesday whether EU countries would respond in kind to any US tariffs, Trump replied: “They can’t, I mean they can try, but they can’t.”