During the first Cabinet meeting of his new term in office, Donald Trump said that duties against Canada and Mexico would take effect on April 2 and that his trade measures will include a 25% tariff on goods from the EU.
Trump claimed, without citing evidence, that the EU had been formed to undermine the U.S.
Tump said: “We’ll be announcing it very soon. It’ll be [a] 25% [tariff] generally speaking, and that will be on cars and all other things.”
The President added, “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.”
However, does this point, from Brian Krassenstein, make sense to you?
He wrote on X: “BREAKING: Trump says the EU was ‘formed in order to screw’ US, and then vows to implement 25% tariffs on them. FACT CHECK: The EU was primarily established to promote peace, economic cooperation, and political stability in Europe after the devastation of World War II.”
The EU was established after the 1993 enforcement of the Maastricht Treaty, building on post-war sentiment of European unity and cites establishing an internal market and achieving sustainable development among its aims.
The EU rejected the president’s claims, saying the creation of a regional market had made doing business in Europe easier for American firms.
A Commission spokesperson 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.”
Antonin Finkelnburg, of the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services told the BBC’s Today programme it would be “difficult” but “not an impossible” situation for Germany’s economy.
He added: “We are worried but we shouldn’t be afraid.”
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