Trump to slap EU with 25% tariffs, bloc vows to ‘vigorously’ fight back
The Hindu
EU retaliates against Trump's accusations, warns of tough countermeasures, and emphasizes the importance of free and fair trade.
The European Union on Thursday (February 27, 2025) pushed back hard against allegations by U.S. President Donald Trump that the 27-nation bloc was out to get the United States and warned that it would vigorously fight any wholesale tariff of 25% on all EU products.
The tit-for-tat dispute following the comments of Mr. Trump, which were aimed at an age-old ally and its main postwar economic partner, further deepened the trans-Atlantic rift that was already widened by Trump's warnings that Washington would drop security guarantees for its European allies.
Thursday's EU pushback came after Mr. Trump told reporters that “the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. That’s the purpose of it, and they’ve done a good job of it,” adding that it would stop immediately under his Presidency.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, went on a counteroffensive.
“The EU wasn’t formed to screw anyone," Mr. Tusk said in an X post. "Quite the opposite. It was formed to maintain peace, to build respect among our nations, to create free and fair trade, and to strengthen our transatlantic friendship. As simple as that.”
And Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez added fiery fuel to the debate.
"We are going to defend our interests when our economies are attacked with tariffs that are completely unjustified and represent a veiled threat to our economic sovereignty.
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