In a news story that seems to be cyclical, Donald Trump once again issued threats of tariffs, this time targeting the European Union despite the agreement he signed last week with Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland. This time, the President of the United States said he will impose a 35% tariff instead of the agreed 15% if the Europeans fail to fulfill the commitment to invest 600 billion dollars in the North American country.
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Trump made these statements in an interview with CNBC when asked what would happen if the EU did not comply with the agreed-upon agreement.
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Why did Trump threaten the EU?
The President of the United States explained that the EU managed to see tariffs on their products reduced from 30% to 15% because they committed to investing 600 billion dollars. “Because of that, I reduced their tariffs (...), because they gave me 600 billion dollars,” said Trump.
The Republican leader described this figure as “a gift,” since it is not a loan that needs to be paid back after a few years. “We were given 600 billion dollars that we can invest in whatever we want,” he said, adding that there are no further details on the matter.
In his usual tone, the President of the United States once again insisted that the European Union had been “cheating” the country for years, so “it’s time for them to pay.”
How was Trump’s agreement with Von der Leyen?
On July 27th, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Donald Trump reached an agreement to resolve the trade dispute regarding the increase in tariffs, with the establishment of 15% tariffs on European products.
The EU, in turn, committed to making energy purchases from the United States worth $750 billion, investments of $600 billion, and the acquisition of a “huge” amount of American military equipment.