US President Donald Trump said his administration will soon announce a 25% tariff on all imports from the European Union (EU).

"We've made a decision and we'll be announcing it shortly. Generally speaking, it's going to be 25%, cars and everything else," President Donald Trump said at his first cabinet meeting on February 26, referring to the plan to tax EU goods.

Mr. Trump accused the EU of "really taking advantage of us."

The EU imposes a 10% tariff on passenger cars, four times the 2.5% rate the US imposes. US officials also complained about Europe's value-added tax of at least 17.5%.

The EU said it would respond "strongly and immediately" to what it called the Trump administration's unjustified trade barriers.

"The EU will react firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade, including when tariffs are used to challenge legal and non-discriminatory policies," a European Commission spokesperson said. "The EU will always protect European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified tariffs."

The EU is the US's third-largest trading partner, along with China. According to Bloomberg, Trump's tariffs could hit up to $29.3 billion in EU exports.

French President Emmanuel Macron met Trump in Washington this week and said he was confident he had convinced the White House owner to avoid a trade conflict with the EU and instead focus on China.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the EU would do everything possible to avoid "a completely unnecessary tariff war."

Since taking office late last month, Mr. Trump has pursued policies to increase tariffs, including with the US's largest trading partners.

At a meeting yesterday, Mr. Trump said he would implement the decision to impose a 25% tariff on the US's two largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, next week. Meanwhile, the US has imposed a 10% tariff on imported goods from China since the beginning of this month.

Earlier this week, Mr. Trump warned that he would impose tariffs on foreign cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors in the coming weeks after announcing a tariff policy on imported goods such as aluminum, steel and copper.

He also directed his team to draft a reciprocal tariff policy, responding proportionately to countries that impose tariffs on US goods.

Many economists warn that Mr. Trump's plan risks damaging the US economy, leading to a global trade war.

Source: Dan Tri Newspaper