In pursuit of his administration’s fiscal policy regime, U.S President Donald Trump has announced that the proposed 25% tariffs on goods made in the European Union (EU) nations will soon be implemented
Trump had alleged that the EU bloc was created to “screw the United States”.
A news report from BBC indicated the President gave this hint to journalists at an appearance with members of his cabinet, maintaining that “it ‘ll be 25% generally speaking and that will be on cars and all other things.”
According to the news report, Trump’s appearance sparked questions about his trade plans, as he also appeared to raise the possibility that looming tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, set to come into force on 4 March, might be postponed again.
The BBC quoted an administration official later as saying that the deadline remained in place, with the president planning to review Mexico and Canada actions related to border security over the coming days.
Trump made it clear on Wednesday that trade with Europe also remained in his sights, repeating his criticism of European policies, which he said put American exporters of food products and cars at a disadvantage.
He said: “The European Union was formed to screw the United States – that’s the purpose of it and they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.”
As expected, the EU has rejected Trump’s claims, saying the creation of a regional market has made doing business in Europe easier for American firms.
A spokesperson for the commission said: “It has been a boon for the United States. We’re ready to partner if you play by the rules. But we will also protect our consumers and businesses at every turn. They expect no less from us.”
The EU nations had insisted that the union would react “firmly and immediately against unjustified tariffs”.
