(Image source from: AP)
New day, new threat - that seems to be Donald Trump's slogan as he turns to his new prey: the European Union. Weeks before he is officially sworn in as the next President of the United States, Mr Trump today threatened the European Union with consequences if it does not reduce the "extraordinary" trade gap with the United States. US President Donald Trump wants Europe to buy more oil and gas from the US. He also said that otherwise “the tariff will remain in place forever.” This word is capitalized for emphasis and to indicate that tariffs may be high. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “I told the European Union that we must make up our huge deficit with the United States through massive oil and gas purchases.” ! “Europe has ridden on America’s back for too long, and we have allowed it,” said Donald Trump in his final term as president, threatening to end all overfinancing. “Europe must get involved,” the US told NATO.
The current US trade deficit with the EU is $202.5 billion, according to the latest US government statistics with data for 2022. In the same year, US imports from EU countries totaled $553.3 billion, while exports to the EU totaled $350.8 billion. President Donald Trump wants to quickly resolve this trade imbalance. His intimidation approach may not be the best, but he believes it will help “make America great again.” He says tariff is his favorite word in the dictionary. “Our country is hurting for everyone right now,” Trump recently told reporters at his Maralago residence and his Florida residence. He attributes this to “bad deals” made by successive US administrations over the past few decades. He believes tariffs will solve this problem. “Tariffs will make our country rich again,” he told reporters.
He urged his team to walk the talk and issue an executive order to be signed on the first day of his second term. These measures include comprehensive customs measures when importing goods and dealing with immigration laws. Mr. Trump has threatened all of Europe as well as the United States' three largest trading partners, China, Mexico and Canada. He has already announced import tariffs of 25 percent for Canada and Mexico and initially 10 percent for China. The European Union has signed major free trade agreements with the four largest South American countries: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, and Europe is already starting to consider options other than the United States. The deal will benefit around 700 million people in Europe and South America.
After the agreement was signed, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticized Donald Trump without mentioning him by name. He praised the free trade agreement, saying: “There is a strong wind blowing in the opposite direction (towards isolation and division) and he sees it as a “trade bride” between Europe and America. Only Mr. Trump knows whether tariffs will actually make America great again or whether America will actually hurt everyone.
