The European Union has firmly rejected US President Donald Trump‘s latest claim that it was created “in order to screw the United States” and has vowed to fight back against his administration’s threatened imposition of a 25% tariff on EU products. This comes on the heels of Trump’s remarks to reporters yesterday alleging that the EU was set up to get back at the US and that he fully intended to put a stop to it. Trump’s remarks add to a widening standoff between Washington and Europe in which Trump has warned that the US could even abandon security guarantees for its European allies.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the current holder of the EU’s rotating presidency, didn’t mince words in his response posted on X:. “The EU wasn’t formed to screw anyone. Quite the opposite. It was formed to maintain peace, to build respect among our nations, to create free and fair trade, and to strengthen our transatlantic friendship. As simple as that.”
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, addressing a Johns Hopkins University event in Washington, said that “we are not out to screw anyone”, suggesting that instead the two sides should be “pulling ourselves up together rather than the opposite.” Were tariffs to be announced, she cautioned, the EU would stand up to the Trump administration. “We are very ready for anything. So allow me to be clear: The EU will react firmly and immediately.”
In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was even more forthright. “We are going to defend our interests when our economies are attacked with tariffs that are completely unjustified and represent a veiled threat to our economic sovereignty,” he declared. The moment Washington announced tariffs, he said, the EU would unleash its own tough countermeasures, measures that are proportional to the challenge”, he added.
Late Wednesday, Trump had commented that the US was set for a standoff. “We are the pot of gold. We’re the one that everybody wants. And they can retaliate. But it cannot be a successful retaliation, because we just go cold turkey. We don’t buy any more. And if that happens, we win.”
The EU estimates that trade volume between the two stands at about $1.5 trillion, approximately 30% of global trade. The EU maintains that its substantial export surplus in goods traded with the US is partially offset because of the surplus the US enjoys in the trade of services.
According to the EU, trade in goods reached 851 billion euros in 2023, representing a trade surplus of 156 billion euros for the bloc. Trade in services was worth 688 billion euros – an EU trade deficit of 104 billion euros.
