The President of the United States, Donald Trump, posted this morning as follows:
"The EU was established solely to take advantage of the US in trade and has always been extremely difficult to deal with. They have all kinds of strong trade barriers, value-added tax, outrageous corporate fines, non-monetary trade obstacles, currency manipulation, various unfair and unreasonable lawsuits against American companies, etc., which result in an annual trade deficit of over $250 billion between the US and the EU, which is completely unacceptable. We have been negotiating with them for a long time but have achieved no results!
Therefore, I suggest imposing a 50% tariff on EU goods starting June 1, 2025. There will be no tariff on American-made goods. Thank you!"
This criticism is very sharp and intimidating.
For a long time, the relationship between the US and the EU has been one of mutual dependence. The US needs the EU's support in international politics, while the EU uses this as a shield to obtain support and protection from the US in politics, economy, and military. Often, they take advantage of the US. Of course, as a little brother of the US, when the US needs them, they will fight bravely and join forces.
In the current period of Trump's administration, he wants to break away from Europe and go solo, no longer providing military protection for the EU or offering trade preferences. Therefore, European countries can no longer take advantage of the US.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832914995852304/
Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author alone.