WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that tariffs on EU products would be 25 percent in general, and signaled that duties on Canada and Me­­xico will take effect in ea­­r­ly April.

Speaking at a cab­inet meeting, Trump des­c­r­ibed the EU — whose cr­­eation was encouraged for decades by Washington — as rooted in an attempt to counter the United States.

“Look, let’s be honest, the European Union was formed in order to screw the US,” Trump said.

Asked if he had made a decision on tariff levels for the bloc, Trump added: “We’ll be announcing it very soon and it’ll be 25pc, generally speaking.” He said this would hit products including cars, ad­­­ding that the EU has “really taken advantage of us.”

Trump has threatened “reciprocal tariffs” on US trading partners to counter “unfair and unbalan­ced” trade. He has also said he would impose sweeping levies on imports of certain products, such as autos and pharmaceuticals.

Since taking office in Jan­uary, Trump has ann­ounced and paused blanket tariffs on US neighbors Canada and Mexico over illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2025