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Donald Trump wants tariffs. The European Union (EU) wants payback. The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said Friday that the bloc will retaliate immediately if the United States imposes global reciprocal tariffs. Trump set an April 1 deadline to finalize the plan, claiming European trade policies, like the value-added tax (VAT), give European businesses an unfair advantage. Von der Leyen made her position clear: “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.” She didn’t stop there. “Tariffs are taxes,” she said. “By imposing tariffs, the US is taxing its own citizens, raising costs for business, stifling growth, and fueling inflation.” The EU has been trying—unsuccessfully—to reach Trump’s administration. Von der Leyen had a brief meeting with Vice President JD Vance in Paris earlier this week. The EU’s trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, had an opening call with Trump’s economic team, but no real progress has been made. Meanwhile, Trump isn’t backing down. On Thursday, he announced that he would expand tariffs beyond the reciprocal ones, specifically targeting cars, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. Trump warns BRICS: “100% tariff” if they challenge the dollar Trump is not just focused on Europe. Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, Trump repeated another warning—this time to BRICS, the economic bloc made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. He declared, “BRICS is dead.” His reasoning? Tariffs. Trump claims that his previous tariff threats stopped BRICS from creating a common currency to rival the US dollar. “If they want to play games with the dollar, they’re going to be hit with a 100% tariff,” Trump said. The BRICS nations, however, deny they ever planned to launch a single…

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Filed under: News - @ February 14, 2025 6:23 pm