Skip to main content

Trump threatens tariffs if EU doesn’t buy more oil, gas

US president-elect Donald Trump on Friday threatened the European Union (EU) with tariffs if the bloc does not reduce its “tremendous” trade gap with Washington through oil and gas purchases.

“I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large-scale purchase of our oil and gas,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform in the early hours of Friday.

“Otherwise, it is tariffs all the way!!!”

According to US figures, goods imports from the EU were $553.3 billion in 2022, while its exports to the bloc were $350.8bn.

This puts the US goods trade deficit with the EU at $202.5bn that year.

Trump, who takes office in January, has made sweeping threats of slapping tariffs on US trading partners — including Canada, Mexico and China — which could send reverberations across the global economy.

Accusing Canada and Mexico of allowing the United States to be flooded with illicit drugs and undocumented migrants, he had announced a 25 per cent import tariff, while also vowing at least 10pc against China, Washington’s Asia-Pacific rival.

Canada, Mexico and China make up three of the biggest US trading partners.

Earlier this month, the European Union concluded a massive trade deal with four South American countries — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — which aims to create a 700-million-customer free-trade area.

EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen had said the agreement would build trade bridges as “strong winds are blowing in the opposite direction, towards isolation and fragmentation” — comments largely seen as a nod to Trump’s threats to hike tariffs.

Some analysts have said Trump’s tariff threat could be bluster, or an opening shot for leverage in future trade negotiations when he comes into office. But Trump has continually insisted that “properly used” tariffs would be positive for the US economy.

“Our country right now loses to everybody,” he told reporters at his Florida residence earlier this week. “Tariffs will make our country rich.”



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/kGDvHAJ

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a...

The Republican primary race for president in 2024

The Republican primary race for president in 2024 is already shaping up to be a competitive one. There are a number of high-profile candidates who have already announced their intention to run, and more are expected to join the field in the coming months. The frontrunner for the nomination is former President Donald Trump. Trump has been teasing a 2024 run for months, and he has a large and loyal following among Republican voters. However, he is also a polarizing figure, and his candidacy could alienate some moderate Republicans. Another potential contender for the nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has been praised by many conservatives for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his opposition to vaccine mandates. He is also seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott. Pence is a more traditional Republican who could appeal to moderate vote...

Islamabad court issues non-bailable warrants for KP CM Gandapur in 2016 weapons and liquor case

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Wednesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in connection with a 2016 case , in which he was accused of carrying alcohol and unlicensed weapons. On July 29, Civil Judge Shaista Khan Kundi summoned Gandapur for recording his testimony in the case. Judge Shaista had directed Gandapur to ensure his presence on September 4 (today) for recording his statement under section 342 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC), observing that he has already skipped five hearings in the case. In the hearing today, the judge rejected Gandapur’s request for exemption from physical appearance in court on medical grounds. The court ordered Station House Officer (SHO) Bhara Kahu to arrest and produce Gandapur in court tomorrow. Gandpaur’s lawyers Raja Zahoorul Hassan and Fatehullah Burki appeared in court, engaging back and forth on Gandapur’s absence from court. “Where is the accused? The case was ca...