What did Donald Trump say about the EU - as he threatens to impose 25% tariffs on European Union 'very soon' and bloc 'formed to screw US'

The US president made the remarks while holding his first cabinet meeting at the White House since his inauguration in January. During his second term as president, Mr Trump has sparked fears of a global trade war by either imposing, or threatening to impose, high tariffs on both America's allies and geopolitical rivals.

Asked whether he had made a decision about imposing tariffs on the European Union, Mr Trump said: "We have made a decision, we'll be announcing it very soon and it will be 25% generally speaking and that will be on cars and all other things. The European Union is a different case than Canada, a different kind of case, they've really taken advantage of us in a different way.

"They don't accept our cars, they don't accept essentially our farm products. They use all sorts of reasons why not, and we accept everything from them, and we have about a $300bn (£237bn) deficit with the European Union."

He added: "The European Union, it was formed in order to screw the United States. Let's be honest - the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States, that's the purpose of it, and they've done a good job of it, but now I'm president."

Asked what he will do if the EU retaliates, Mr Trump said: "They can't, I mean, they can try, but they can't." He added: "They can retaliate, but it cannot be a successful retaliation, because we just go cold turkey, we don't buy anymore. If that happens, we win."

On X one user wrote: “Wonder how Europe will respond“. Another said that what Trump is saying shows he is “insecure”. The user said: “Trump is so insecure. It shows every single time he opens his mouth.“

A European Commission spokesperson said in response to Mr Trump's comments: "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. The European Union is the world's largest free market. And it has been a boon for the United States."

Earlier this month the US government imposed 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. Beijing retaliated by imposing 10% duties on many US imports and 15% tariffs on coal and liquefied natural gas. Meanwhile, the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada were paused after agreements were reached on border security.