Trump says EU tariff proposal ‘very, very bad to us’
[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump said on Monday the European Union’s proposal for an exemption from tariffs on industrial products, including cars, is not enough to account for the transatlantic trade deficit.
“The European Union has been very, very bad to us, they don’t take our cars, like Japan in that sense, they don’t take our agricultural product. They don’t take anything practically,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Last week, Trump announced a 20 per cent tariff on European goods, in his all-out protectionist offensive, which is set to take effect on April 9.
Trump’s comments came in response to the proposal announced Monday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seeking a bilateral tariff exemption for cars and other industrial goods.
“We have proposed zero tariffs on industrial products... Europe is always ready to strike a good deal” with the United States, von der Leyen said during a press conference in Brussels. But “we are also ready to respond with countermeasures and defend our interests” against Trump’s trade offensive, she warned.
In comments on Monday, Trump added that the EU’s trade deficit would “disappear quickly” if European countries moved to purchase American energy.
“They need to buy and commit to purchasing an amount equivalent (to this trade deficit) in energy,” Trump said. AFP
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