DAVOS, SWITZERLAND – JANUARY 23: United States of America (US) President Donald Trump delivers a speech via video conference during the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on January 23, 2025. (Photo by Halil Sagirkaya/ Anadolu via Getty Images)
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US President Donald Trump on Thursday continued to attack the European Union for what he claims are unequal trade relations.
“From America’s point of view, the EU is treating us very, very unfairly, very badly,” Trump said in a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Following his inauguration on Monday, Trump’s second term has been a key topic of conversation in Davos this year – especially given his threats of trade tariffs on the EU, China, Mexico, Canada and beyond.
Echoing previous comments, Trump said in his speech in Davos: “They make it very difficult to get products into Europe, and yet they expect to sell and sell their products in the United States. So we have, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars in deficit with the EU , and nobody is happy with that, and we’re going to do something about it.”
Trump said in December The EU would face “all-out tariffs” unless it increases its purchases of US oil and gas, something European officials have expressed a willingness to do.
He added on Thursday: “They want to compete better, and you can’t compete if you can’t get through the approval process faster. There’s no reason why it can’t go faster… I’m trying to be constructive myself, because I love Europe.”
The US is the largest recipient of goods from the EU, counting almost a fifth of the bloc’s exports. USA’ the largest trade deficit it is with the EU in machinery and vehicles, with a total gap of 102 billion euros ($106 billion) in 2023. In energy, Washington ran a trade surplus with the European bloc worth 70 billion euros; also has a significant trade surplus in services.
This is a developing story and will be updated soon.
