EU was born to 'screw' US, Trump says; EU commission fires back

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00:00The World News, the European Commission is vowing to react firmly and immediately against

00:05unjustified barriers to free and fair trade after Donald Trump said he would be announcing

00:1125% tariffs on imports from the EU very soon.

00:17Let's take a listen.

00:18The European Union's been, it was formed in order to screw the United States.

00:23I mean, look, let's be honest, the European Union was formed in order to screw the United

00:28States.

00:30And they've done a good job of it, but now I'm president.

00:34Well, for some reaction from Brussels, let's cross live now to France 24's Dave Keating.

00:39He's standing by for us.

00:41Dave, some tough words there from Donald Trump.

00:44EU capitals have been preparing for an announcement on tariffs.

00:48It seems like Emmanuel Macron's visit to Washington hasn't appeased Donald Trump.

00:53What is the very latest?

00:54What do we know?

00:56Yeah, I mean, this doesn't come as a huge surprise, the announcement for these tariffs,

01:01because I think here in Brussels, everyone has expected that no matter what these were

01:06coming or at least the announcement of them were coming.

01:09But of course, they have watched very closely what happened with Canada and Mexico, where

01:14Trump announced these 25% blank tariffs on all of the trade between the US and those

01:21countries, but then walked it back after those countries pledged to take some fairly

01:26symbolic measures, nothing really concrete.

01:30So there's been talk here about how exactly the EU should respond, given that experience

01:36with Canada and Mexico.

01:38We keep being told that the EU is prepared to immediately put into effect these retaliatory

01:45tariffs.

01:46We know last time around when Trump enacted tariffs on steel and aluminum from the EU,

01:53there were very quickly retaliatory tariffs on items of Americana, like blue jeans and

01:59whiskey, things that were seen as in particular affecting people in Trump's heartland of base

02:05supporters.

02:06This time, of course, the tariffs that he's talking about are much more significant.

02:10So the thought is the response has to be more significant.

02:13Now, that statement from the European Commission tonight in response to Trump's tariff was

02:18that the EU, Trump's threat rather, was that the EU will react firmly and immediately against

02:23unjustified barriers to free and fair trade, including when tariffs are used to challenge

02:28legal and non-discriminatory policies.

02:32So therefore suggesting that if this back and forth in terms of a trade war were to

02:38occur, that Trump, let's say the EU responds minorly, and then Trump takes that as a reason

02:44to retaliate majorly against the minor response, that the EU will then respond in kind.

02:50There's some saying that you should hold off on immediate retaliatory threats because of

02:55the experience with Canada and Mexico.

02:57But there are others that are saying, look, that was just a one month reprieve and we

03:01can't be doing this dance with the United States month after month for the next year.

03:06Also, the EU has a lot more trade heft than Canada or Mexico in terms of the way it can

03:13retaliate.

03:14It can really hurt the United States in a way that Canada and Mexico would struggle

03:18to be able to do.

03:19So when these tariffs actually get announced, and I think the expectation now is this is

03:23a question of when and not if, there will be a debate about how the EU should respond.

03:28And it's unclear who's going to win that debate.

03:31And Dave, in terms of that response, is the EU going to be speaking with one voice here?

03:36Various member states are going to be affected in a different manner to others.

03:41Some will be much more harder hit by these tariffs.

03:47In terms of trade, it is an EU competence.

03:50The EU member states have signed treaties giving the European Commission the authority

03:55to negotiate trade on their behalf.

03:57Individual EU countries could not conclude an individual trade arrangement with the United

04:02States even if they wanted to.

04:04They would be violating international law, EU law, if they did so.

04:08You know, when Trump says that the EU was formed to screw the United States, it's not

04:13exactly historically accurate.

04:15The EU was formed with the encouragement of the United States.

04:18But it's also true to say that if you were just discovering the European Union now, you

04:23would see it as an impediment to US power because it is the only thing that gives individual

04:29European countries some leverage when dealing with the United States.

04:32And again, that's why the EU has so much more powder here in terms of firing back against

04:38the United States than Canada or Mexico, because it is so much bigger and because it is

04:43actually a larger single market than the United States.

04:46So it's obvious why Trump wouldn't like the European Union, because it prevents the

04:51US from having the maximum amount of power and leverage over Europeans that it would like.

04:56But the fact of the matter is, even if individual European countries wanted to break away and

05:01be disunited on the trade front, legally, treaty-wise, they can't.

05:06It is the European Commission's decision at the end of the day.

05:10Dave, thanks so much.

05:11We'll leave it there for now.

05:12That's Dave Keating, our correspondent in Brussels.

05:16Moving on.

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