Washington: US President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose 25% tariffs on European Union products, including cars, citing a significant trade imbalance. Trump also made the contentious claim that the EU was "formed to screw the US."
"We have made a decision. We'll be announcing it very soon, and it'll be 25 per cent generally speaking, and that'll be on cars and all other things," Trump told reporters on Wednesday at a White House Cabinet meeting.
The EU is the US's third largest trading partner alongside China. Trump has said he will impose 25 per cent tariffs on the US's two largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, next week.
Trump claimed that the European Union has "taken advantage of" the United States.
"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, and we have about a $300 billion deficit with the European Union," he said.
Politico reported that the alleged $300-billion is actually exaggerated.
According to 2023 EU data, the US goods trade deficit with the EU was approximately 155.8 billion euros. However, the US had a significant surplus in services, totalling 104 billion euros. This brings the overall trade balance to around 51.8 billion euros, or roughly $56 billion.
Trump has made it clear that he won't be delaying the tariffs on Mexico and Canada, despite their efforts to strengthen border security. When asked about it, Trump simply stated, "I'm not stopping the tariffs. No." He also emphasised the devastating impact of the fentanyl influx, claiming it has caused "millions of deaths."
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick highlighted two crucial deadlines related to the tariffs. The tariffs on Mexico and Canada, previously delayed for a month, are now set to take effect on March 5. To avoid this, both countries must demonstrate satisfactory efforts to control fentanyl entry by this deadline. However, President Trump has expressed doubts, stating it will be challenging for them to meet his expectations.
Additionally, Lutnick noted that broader tariff actions targeting multiple countries will be implemented on April 2.
Trump initially signed an executive order on February 1 to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, with an additional 10% tariff on Canadian energy products. However, just two days later, he deferred these tariffs for a month to allow for further negotiations.
On Monday, Trump announced that the tariffs on Mexico and Canada will indeed "go forward" as previously planned.
(with inputs from IANS)