U.S. President Donald Trump has accused the European Union of employing trade tactics “nastier than China,” as Washington intensifies its push for greater trade concessions from Brussels. The remarks follow a wave of new tariffs imposed on EU goods, signaling a sharp escalation in the ongoing transatlantic economic standoff.
Speaking during a White House press conference on Monday, Trump criticized the EU for what he described as long-standing and unfair trade imbalances, particularly in the automobile and agriculture sectors.
“They sell us 13 million cars; we sell them none. They sell us agricultural products; we sell them virtually nothing,” Trump said, accusing the EU of erecting protectionist barriers while benefiting from unfettered access to American markets.
Trump also denounced the EU’s regulatory pressure on major U.S. tech firms. “They’re suing Apple, Google, Meta… everybody,” he said, claiming Brussels targets American companies for political and economic gain.
Earlier this year, the U.S. introduced a 20% blanket tariff on EU goods, along with a 25% tariff on cars and metals. While Trump later paused most of these duties for 90 days to allow for negotiations, the 10% and 25% tariffs remain active unless a deal is struck.
“We hold all the cards,” Trump declared, predicting that the EU would “come down a lot” under economic pressure.
The president also linked European trade practices to high prescription drug prices in the U.S., blaming Brussels for placing “brutal” cost controls on pharmaceutical companies while allegedly shifting research and development burdens onto American consumers.
“Europe is going to have to pay a little bit more. And America is going to pay a lot less,” Trump concluded.
Trump’s remarks came shortly after a partial trade thaw with China. Following talks in Geneva, Washington and Beijing agreed to suspend most recent tariffs, setting new baseline rates of 30% on Chinese goods and 10% on American goods beginning May 14, alongside a joint consultation mechanism.
By contrast, EU-U.S. trade negotiations remain stalled. The European Commission recently unveiled a list of potential countermeasures worth €95 billion in U.S. goods, should the U.S. fail to de-escalate.
In response, Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro warned Brussels that retaliatory measures would be “a grave mistake,” and “counterproductive to constructive dialogue.”