U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed the European Union’s proposal for an exemption from tariffs on industrial products, including cars, calling it insufficient to address the transatlantic trade deficit.
“The European Union has been very, very bad to us,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “They don’t take our cars, like Japan does. They don’t take our agricultural products. They don’t take anything, practically.”
Last week, Trump announced a 20 percent tariff on European goods, set to take effect on April 9, as part of his broader protectionist trade stance.
Trump’s comments followed a proposal made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, in which she sought a bilateral tariff exemption for cars and other industrial goods. “We have proposed zero tariffs on industrial products… Europe is always ready to strike a good deal with the United States,” von der Leyen said during a press conference in Brussels.
In response, Trump stated that the EU’s trade deficit with the U.S. would “disappear fast” if European countries committed to purchasing American energy. “They have to buy and commit to buy a like amount of energy to this trade deficit,” he said.
While Trump did not clarify whether such a purchase would result in the removal of tariffs, he suggested that any deal to address the trade imbalance would need to be worth $350 billion.
However, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, the U.S. goods trade deficit with the EU was $235.6 billion in 2024.
