EU Vows ‘Strong and Immediate’ Retaliation as Trump Plans 25% Tariffs on European Imports

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration will soon announce a 25% tariff on imports from the European Union.

‘We have made a decision and we will announce it very soon, and it will be 25% across the board, and it will apply to cars and everything else,’ Trump told reporters during a meeting of his cabinet.

The night before, the European Commission had promised a ‘strong and immediate’ US response to ‘unjustified barriers to free and fair trade’ if Trump imposed tariffs. 

Separately, Trump is also preparing to impose a 25% tariff on America's neighbouring countries, Canada and Mexico, as the White House tries to curb illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking across its borders.

However, despite Trump's previous promises to impose tariffs on these two countries, as well as China, from the first day of his second term, only the measures against Beijing have come into force.

During Trump's speech, Howard Luthnick, the Commerce Secretary, interjected, noting that America's neighbours still have to meet the president's demands on fentanyl, suggesting that the taxes could go into effect next week.

‘That's going to be hard to meet,’ Trump said in response to Lutnick's statement. 

Trump's advocacy of tariffs on EU goods comes two days after he hosted Emmanuel Macron, the French president, at the White House for a meeting that included discussions on trade in addition to peace talks in Ukraine.