When asked how the U.S. would respond to potential EU retaliation, Trump said, “They can try, but they won’t succeed.”
Donald Trump announced plans to impose 25% tariffs on the EU “very soon,” claiming the bloc was “created to take advantage of the United States.”He made these remarks during his first White House cabinet meeting since taking office in January.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, was among those present, though he is not a cabinet member.
During his second term, President Trump has fueled concerns of a global trade war by imposing or threatening steep tariffs on both U.S. allies and geopolitical rivals.
Earlier this month, the U.S. government implemented 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, along with a 10% tariff on goods from China.
In response, Beijing imposed 10% duties on many U.S. imports and 15% tariffs on coal and liquefied natural gas. Meanwhile, the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico were paused following border security agreements.
They’ve taken advantage of us
When asked whether he had decided on tariffs for the European Union, Trump responded: “We have made a decision, we’ll be announcing it very soon, and it will be 25% generally speaking—on cars and all other things.”
“The European Union is a different case than Canada, a completely different situation. They’ve taken advantage of us in their own way.
“They refuse to accept our cars and essentially block our farm products, using all sorts of excuses. Meanwhile, we take in everything from them, and we’re left with a $300 billion (£237 billion) trade deficit with the EU.”
He continued, “The European Union was created to take advantage of the United States.
“Let’s be honest—it was designed for that purpose, and they’ve done a good job of it. But now, I’m president.”
When asked how he would respond if the EU retaliated, Mr. Trump said, “They can’t. I mean, they can try, but they can’t.”
He added, “They can retaliate, but it won’t be successful, because we’ll simply stop buying from them. If that happens, we win.”
A European Commission spokesperson responded to Mr. Trump’s remarks, saying, “The EU will react firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade, including when tariffs challenge legal and non-discriminatory policies. The European Union is the world’s largest free market and has been a benefit to the United States.”
The tariff threat comes amid strained U.S.-Europe relations, as the Trump administration appears to favor Moscow over Kyiv in efforts to broker peace in Ukraine.
Last week, Mr. Trump shocked European leaders by calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator with no elections.”
Mr. Zelenskyy accused the U.S. president of living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”
