Trump targets European Union with new tariff threats
President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday evening that he intends to impose tariffs on goods from the European Union and possibly also from the United Kingdom. "The European Union has taken advantage of us," Trump told reporters.
On Sunday evening, shortly after leaving Air Force One at Andrews Base, President Trump told reporters he would speak with Prime Minister Trudeau and Mexican officials the following morning. He indicated that no major developments were expected, noting that tariffs had been imposed and asserting that both parties owed a significant amount, which he was confident they would pay.
Over the weekend, Trump announced that he is imposing 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and most goods from Canada and 10% tariffs on Chinese goods imported to the United States. All three countries have already announced that they will take retaliatory measures.
When asked whether he would also impose tariffs on the European Union and the United Kingdom, as he had promised, he replied, "We’ll see what happens."
"It might happen with that, but it will definitely happen with the European Union. I can tell you that, because they've really taken advantage of I said, you know, we have over $300 billion deficit," he stated.
"The EU is really out of place"
"They don't take our cars, they don't take our farm products. They take almost nothing, and we take everything from the millions of cars, tremendous amounts of food and farm products. So the UK is way out of line, and we'll see the UK, but European Union is really out of line," he declared.
When asked for details, he did not specify either the potential tariff rates or the timing of their implementation, other than to say it will be "very soon."
Trump also outlined the prospect of reaching an agreement with London on this matter. "Prime Minister Starmer has been very nice. We've had a couple of meetings, we've had numerous phone calls, we're getting along very well, and we'll see whether or not we can balance out our budget with the European Union," said Trump.
According to CNN, Donald Trump is not accurate in claiming that the EU does not buy American agricultural products. According to government data, the EU purchased $12.3 billion of farm products from the US in 2023, making it the fourth largest export market for American agricultural and related products.
On the other hand, according to a December 2023 report from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, the EU is the second-largest market for American vehicle exports. In 2022, 271,476 American vehicles were imported, valued at nearly $10 billion.
