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Trump announces that he will impose tariffs against the European Union "very soon"

The president announced that he will talk with Mexican and Canadian authorities on Monday morning, a day before the tariff measures are due to take effect in both nations.

Donald Trump habla con los periodistas junto al Air Force One.

Donald Trump speaks to reporters next to Air Force OneCordon Press

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Donald Trump announced the next target of his tariff policy: the European Union (EU). Although he did not specify percentages or dates, the president said Sunday night that he will "definitely" impose tariffs "very soon" on products from the European bloc. "They don't take our cars, they don't take our farm products, they take almost nothing and we take everything from them," he added.

Those words came just over a day after Trump imposed tariffs of 10% on products coming from China and 25% on those entering from Mexico or Canada. In the case of the latter, the tariffs will be 10% on energy imports. All of them will come into effect on Tuesday.

After learning of that tariff imposition, the European Union promised retaliation if Trump did the same with European imports. "We need America, and America needs us as well," declared Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission, after learning of Trump's latest words.

During the early hours of Monday, also the markets showed signs of having heard the warnings of the U.S. leader: the main European automakers dawned with a sharp drop in their shares. Volkswagen and Stellantis sank nearly 6%, while Mercedes fell 5% and BMW and Volvo, 4.9%, according to AFP.

Canada and Mexico respond with tariffs

The Republican also assured Sunday that he would talk Monday morning with Mexican officials and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Beijing, Ottawa and Mexico City promised retaliation.

The Trudeau government opened the week, hours before the anticipated conversation with Trump, by publishing a list of U.S. products that will carry 25% tariffs starting Tuesday: from live poultry to yogurt and milk to bedsteads, cigarette lighters and light fixtures.

"It is not with the imposition of tariffs that problems are solved, but by talking and dialoguing as we did in recent weeks with your State Department to address the phenomenon of migration; in our case, with respect for human rights," said, for her part, the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, in a post in the last few hours.

In a video minutes later, Sheinbaum said that Trump's measure would raise prices "very much," that it was "irresponsible" and "categorically" rejected the accusation by the US administration of alleged collusion between Mexican authorities and drug cartels. He also accused the latter of not taking charge of drug consumption in its territory:

"Why don't they start by combating the sale of narcotics on the streets of their major cities, how come people with addictions buy that drug, why haven't we ever heard of arrests in the United States of U.S. criminal groups?"

On Monday, the Mexican executive promised to provide more details on its economic response.

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