Washington DC:
A new day, a new threat – that’s what Donald Trump’s mantra seems to be as he sets his eyes on his new prey – the European Union. Weeks before his oath-taking ceremony, which will officially make him the next US President, Mr Trump today threatened the EU with consequences, if it does not reduce the “tremendous” trade gap with Washington.
Donald Trump has demanded that Europe buy most of its oil and gas from the US. He also said that if it doesn’t, then there will be “TARIFFS all the way” – capitalising the word to show greater emphasis to it, implying they may be steep.
Writing on his platform Truth Social, Mr Trump stated that “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas – Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!”
In his previous term too, Donald Trump had said that “For far too long Europe has been riding on the back of the US – and we have allowed for that to happen.” He had at the time also threatened to stop all excess US funding to NATO saying “Europe must contribute to it too”.
According to the latest US government figures which shows data from 2022, the United States’ current trade deficit with the European Union stands at $202.5 billion. While American imports from European Union countries stood at $553.3 billion that year, exports to the EU were billed at $350.8 billion.
Donald Trump wants to address this trade imbalance swiftly. Though his threatening approach may not be the best way to do it, he is convinced it will help “make America great again”. Tariffs, he says, is his favourite word in the dictionary.
‘LOSING TO EVERYONE’
Speaking to reporters at his resort-cum-residence Mar-a-Lago in Florida recently, Mr Trump had said “Our country right now loses to everybody”. He blames this on “bad deals” made by successive regimes over the past few decades in the US. He believes tariffs will fix this. “Tariffs will make our country rich again,” he told the reporters.
Putting his words to actions, he has asked his team to draw up executive orders that he will sign on the first day of his second term as President. These include sweeping tariffs on import of goods and on tackling immigration laws.
Besides all of Europe, Mr Trump has threatened three of the US’ largest trading partners too – China, Mexico, and Canada. He has already declared a 25 per cent import tariff on Canada and Mexico and a 10 per cent tariff to begin with against China.
Europe has already started looking for options beyond the United States with the EU signing a massive free trade agreement with four major South American countries – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. The deal will benefit nearly 700 million people across Europe and South America.
After the deal was signed European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen took a dig at Donald Trump without naming him. “Strong winds are blowing in the opposite direction (compared to the free trade deal) – towards isolation and fragmentation”, she said, adding a word of praise for the free trade pact calling it a “trade bride” between Europe and America.
Will tariffs really help “make America great again”, or will the US “lose to everybody” in the true sense – only Trump can tell.
