President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to add the 27 countries that make up the European Union to the list of trade partners he'll place tariffs on — unless the group takes steps to import more U.S. goods.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday added the 27 countries that make up the European Union to the list of trade partners he’s threatening with tariffs — unless the group takes steps to import more U.S. goods.

“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 posted shortly after 1 a.m. on social media. “Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!”

  • absquatulate@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    2 hours ago

    Putin trained the fucker well. First he poisons relationships with neighbors, then the EU. Full ongoing division tactics. Straight out of the brexit cookbook. The only thing that’s missing now is for him to pompously declare independence from the EU or smth.

  • GiddyGap@lemm.eeEnglish
    3·
    4 hours ago

    Donny, buddy, you can take your oil and you can take your gas and you can stick it where the sun don’t shine. Also, it sounds like no one has told you that the EU is not a country. Dumbass.

  • Aniki@feddit.orgEnglish
    1·
    5 hours ago

    Context/explanation: (at least that’s how i explain it to myself)

    It’s about pride. Trump doesn’t like that the “greatest of all countries” US is threatening to have an (even larger) export deficit with china in the future, so he wants to put up tariffs to slow down international trade; this way the deficit becomes a bit smaller he hopes.

    And while we’re already at it, let’s extend these tariffs to europe, just for good measure, or so

  • swampwitch@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    18 hours ago

    Probably influenced by the enormous amount of money oil barons spent on him, of which they almost certainly did with an expectation of return on investment.

    His desire to “Drill baby drill!” and relax restrictions on oil drilling—including drilling into a wilderness reserve previously uninterrupted by man—and his apparent distaste for EVs and green energy, makes it pretty obvious whose hand has firmly lodged itself right up his arsehole.

    The man needs oil to sell to please his owners, and belligerently trying to force the EU to increase their purchases is just another one of his hare-brained schemes.

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      16 hours ago

      He seems to think that a trade deficit means that the US is losing money. That’s obviously as incorrect as the idea that tariffs are paid by the country they are enacted on, rather than the country that is enacting them, but if he really does believe both of those things, his behavior makes some sense.

  • GreenKnight23@lemmy.worldEnglish
    21·
    22 hours ago

    he’s just going full Oprah with these things isn’t he?

    did someone tell him it’s a game like duck duck goose?

    tariff. tariff. tariff. tariff. tariff. tariff.

    Donald, you can’t give everyone tariffs!

    • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      7·
      15 hours ago

      I wish media would call the what they are. Taxes. Trump wants to tax the American people. He is pro taxes, he wants more and more and more of them. But he wants to make sure they hit the lower and middle class, so he gives tax breaks to the rich, and then passes the cost down.

    • LANIK2000@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      10 hours ago

      I hate how this race to the bottom makes China look better and better each year. Fucking China! Good job assholes! The US is getting dangerously close to becoming just as bad… Well, except for the about to be fucking poor like Russia part.

    • realitista@lemm.eeEnglish
      12·
      22 hours ago

      Yes, it seems that if he has his way, the whole world will have to unite against the USA.

    • Alex@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      12 hours ago

      That’s what he wants, he’s all about the bitcoin and his own versions of it.

    • Caveman@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      19 hours ago

      That’s unfortunately not gonna happen since the US has the world reserve currency but it looks like he’s doing his best to change that

      • TheBrideWoreCrimson@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        7·
        15 hours ago

        The times when John Connally could tell European diplomats “The dollar is our currency, but your problem” are already nearly gone. The world’s currency reserves are currently at 59% US dollars, down from the year 2000’s 73%.

      • WIZARD POPE💫@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        17 hours ago

        Sadly cannot expect it to change bit it would really be funny if the reserve currency changed to something else like the € for example.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4·
          8 hours ago

          We can expect it to change actually. We’ve known for decades that we’re entering another multi polar era. One of the biggest criticisms of GOP presidents since Reagan is their cavalier attitude to this fact. They keep trying to strong arm other countries like there’s no alternatives and every time they do that they generate political will to move away from the US in other countries.

        • Caveman@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          14 hours ago

          Yeah, euro is a good candidate, inflation target is 2% and is pretty stable and widely accepted. The Mercosur deal might tip the scales pretty heavily towards the euro since Latin America uses mostly USD for international transactions.

          The BRICS currency would also be a strong candidate if that ever happens.

  • werefreeatlast@lemmy.worldEnglish
    42·
    16 hours ago

    Sir, yourope? That’s spelled EUROPE. OK all good? Let me know if you need anything else! Oh diaper change? Already? OK I’ll call Jason and Bobby and Fred they know how to do it. They are the bigliest experts.

  • Naich@lemmings.worldEnglish
    84·
    1 day ago

    OK. The rest of the world can forget the US for the next 4 years. We’ll see you guys in 2029 if there’s anything left.