Trump threatens 10% EU tariff, sparking global trade tensions
Donald Trump is considering imposing a 10% tariff on goods from the European Union, reports "The Telegraph." Such a move would escalate the global trade war, which began on Saturday when the new U.S. president imposed broad tariffs on goods imported from Mexico, Canada, and China, the newspaper assesses.
A source close to the Trump administration stated that there is no broad agreement, but "some want to impose a 10% tariff on the EU." "They are talking about implementing this on all EU imports," it reads.
Another source told "The Telegraph" that "Trump is testing the situation with Canada and Mexico, seeing what can go through."
On Sunday, while returning from the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump said that tariffs on the EU "will definitely happen." "I can say this because they really have taken advantage of us – we have a deficit of over 300 billion dollars," he added.
Trump criticizes the European Union
Trump criticized the EU, claiming that "they don't take our cars, they don't take our agricultural products. They take almost nothing, and we take everything: from millions of cars to huge quantities of food and agricultural products."
When pressed for details, he did not specify either the potential tariff rate or the timing of its implementation, beyond saying it would happen "very soon."
According to CNN, Donald Trump is misleading by asserting that the EU does not buy American agricultural products. According to government data, the EU purchased U.S. agricultural products worth $12.3 billion in 2023, making it the fourth-largest export market for American agricultural and related products.
Meanwhile, according to a report by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association from December 2023, the EU is the second-largest market for American vehicle exports. In 2022, 271,476 American vehicles were imported there, with a value of nearly 9 billion euros (about $9.5 billion).
Source: "The Telegraph," WP News
