Tariff-happy Trump says EU was formed to harm US

US President Donald Trump has claimed that the European Union “was formed in order to s c r e w the US,” The Guardian reports.

Enraged by the US’ trade deficit with the EU, Trump said in a cabinet meeting on February 26 that the imposition of tariffs on the 27-country bloc was about to become reality.

“We have made a decision and we’ll be announcing it very soon. It’ll be 25%,” he said, according to the BBC.

After declaring how much he loved European countries individually, Trump said, “The European Union was formed to s c r e w the United States – that’s the purpose of it and they’ve done a good job of it. But now I'm president.”

“They’ve really taken advantage of us,” he added. “They don’t accept our cars, they don’t accept, essentially, our farm products. They use all sorts of reasons why not. And we accept everything of them.”

The tariffs, according to Trump, would hit car manufacturing and “all other things,” indicating that the 25% tariff would be a general levy slapped on all EU imports to the US.

European Commission data indicate that the EU had a trade surplus of $159.6 billion with the US for goods in 2023, but a $108.9 billion deficit on services, making the US shortfall in real terms around $50 bn.

Photo: screenshot of Statista chart.

The EU has promised to react “firmly and immediately” to “unjustified” trade barriers, and is determined to respond in kind.

Antonin Finkelnburg from the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services told the BBC’s Today program, “We are worried but we shouldn’t be afraid.”

Photo: screenshot LinkedIn site.

He added that a 25% tariff on EU goods entering the US would create a "difficult" but "not an impossible" situation for Germany’s economy.

According to Bloomberg, however, Trump’s tariffs could affect as much as $29.3bn of EU exports to the US.

French President Emmanuel Macron suggested during an interview on Fox news that he might have talked Trump out of imposing tariffs on the EU – but it appears he was mistaken.

Meanwhile, Polish leader Donald Tusk has stressed that the EU should do everything within its power to sidestep “totally unnecessary and stupid tariff wars”.

“The European Union is the world’s largest free market,” the European Commission said in a statement to CNBC. “And it has been a boon for the United States.

“By creating a large and integrated single market, the EU has facilitated trade, reduced costs for US exporters, and harmonized standards and regulations across 27 countries. As a result, US investments in Europe are highly profitable.”

Trump does not see the EU in such a positive light. “There is no question the intention is there to destroy Europe, starting with Ukraine,” Nathalie Rocci, head of Italy’s Institute of International Affairs told The Guardian.

“The empowering of the far right is instrumental to the goal of destroying the EU,” she added.

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