During the first Cabinet meeting of his new Administration, President Trump unveiled his plan to impose 25% tariffs on all European products, effective April 2.
Speaking to reporters about the proposed tariffs, the President stated, “We’ll be announcing it very soon. It’ll be 25% generallyspeaking, and that will be on cars and all other things.”
“They’ve really taken advantage of us … 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 President added.
Trump remarked, “I love the countries of Europe. I guess I’m from there at some point, a long time ago, right? … But the European Union was formed in order 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.”
In response to the President’s comments, the European Commission has vowed to “react firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade, including when tariffs are used to challenge legal and non-discriminatory policies.”
In a statement, the European Commission said, “The European Union is the world’s largest free market. 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 U.S. exporters, and harmonized standards and regulations across 27 countries. As a result, U.S. investments in Europe are highly profitable.”
The duties scheduled for April 2 also include a 25% tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
