Trump warns EU and Canada: Massive tariffs incoming
"If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned," commented U.S. President Donald Trump in response to reactions from the European Union and Canada.
Trump announced on Wednesday that beginning April 2nd, he will impose 25% tariffs on all cars and light trucks imported from abroad. The previous rate was 2.5%.
Trump threatens the EU and Canada
On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU will assess Trump's announcement about imposing 25% tariffs on all imported cars. "Tariffs are taxes - bad for business, worse for consumers," she assessed.
Canada also announced its response.
"This is a very direct attack. We will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We will defend our country," emphasized Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
"It will happen soon ... we have options. We can introduce retaliatory tariffs," said Carney, though he did not provide details.
U.S. President Donald Trump reacted to these announcements.
"If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both in order to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had," announced Trump on the Truth Social platform.
The market is already reacting
President Trump's decision to impose 25% tariffs on imported cars has caused declines in the stocks of Asian manufacturers.
According to CNBC, Japanese companies Toyota and Honda lost 3.69% and 2.91% of their value, respectively. Nissan, which has two factories in Mexico, recorded a decline of 2.92%, and Mazda Motor lost over 6%.
The new tariffs are estimated to bring the U.S. over 100 billion dollars in annual revenue.
