Trump targets EU with tariffs amidst trade deficit claims
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 stated in a conversation with reporters.
On Sunday evening, shortly after disembarking from Air Force One at Andrews Base, President Donald Trump told reporters he would speak with Prime Minister Trudeau and officials from Mexico the following morning. He stated that no major developments were expected, noted that tariffs had been imposed, and expressed confidence that the payments owed would be made.
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.
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When asked whether, as promised, he would also impose tariffs on the European Union and the United Kingdom, 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 trade deficit with them," 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 would be "very soon."
Trump also outlined the prospect of agreeing 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.
