Trump threatens new super duties on Beijing and berates the EU

US president relaunches trade offensive: ‘EU exploited us, now buy energy from us to reduce deficit’

Donald Trump again raises the tone in the global trade battle, confirming the arrival of new super duties and harshly criticising both China and the European Union. ‘A lot of countries are coming to negotiate, but in some cases they will pay substantial tariffs,’ he said from the Oval Office, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ‘They are offering things we wouldn’t even think of asking for,’ he added.

The new tariffs will go into effect on Wednesday 9 April, while financial markets remain under pressure. For Trump, the tariffs are a legitimate instrument of pressure: ‘Countries that want to be freed must deal with Washington’.

China in the crosshairs: ‘Off with tariffs or new duties will be triggered’

The most serious escalation concerns China. Trump has denounced Beijing’s introduction of 34% tariffs on top of those already in place. ‘If they do not remove them by tomorrow (6pm Italian time on 8 April), we will impose more tariffs of 50%,’ he said. ‘I have a very good relationship with President Xi and I hope it stays that way, but they cannot behave this way.’

Brussels prepares to react: EU duties on US products from 15 April

The European Union is also preparing to react. The list of American products subject to duties as of 15 April will be published shortly. Brussels tried to start a dialogue by offering the US a reciprocal reduction of duties to zero in sectors such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, rubber and machinery. But Trump dismissed the initiative: ‘It is not enough’.

‘For years the EU has been very tough. It was created to harm the United States,’ he accused. ‘In Nato they exploited us militarily, we defended countries that then hit us commercially.’

The message to Europe: ‘Buy our energy’

Trump then proposed an alternative way out to close the $350 billion US-EU trade deficit: buy American energy. ‘They need it. If they buy it from us, the deficit disappears in a week,’ he said. ‘We have all kinds of energy, more than anyone else in the world.’

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