US President Donald Trump planned on Friday to impose “huge” new tariffs on the European Union, accusing the bloc of “robbing” American companies and vowing to launch a trade investigation after the EU fined Google for illegal business practices.
“The European Union will pay a very high price for this illegal and unethical behavior, which I have warned you time and again,”Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Penalties will be completely changed and, we hope, heavy Taxes will be imposed on them as soon as possible.”
The president’s threat came just a day after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greerwarned that the action of the EUagainst Google — two fines totaling more than $1 billion — could jeopardize the union’s relationship with the White House.
At stake: the Turnberry deal, which Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed last fall, which cut US tariffs on EU exports by 15 percent.
On Thursday, theThe White House announced the new taxin many parts of the country under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 over what it said was the presence of forced labor in their supply chains.
on friday,European officials sighedon the new tariff rates, which were set at 10 percent for the EU and comply with the Turnberry agreement.
But the president’s messages on social media could signal an impending breach.
“The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, and we will not let it be!” Trump wrote.
