Trump Forgets Basic European History in Bizarre Tariff Rant

Yahoo

07-04-2025

The European Union graciously offered to negotiate with Donald Trump on tariffs before retaliating, but the U.S. president is too blinded by his own conspiracy to even consider the deal.
On Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered the United States a 'zero-for-zero tariff' on cars and industrial goods to avoid a trade war, a pretty generous offer given Trump slapped 20 percent tariffs on the EU—and pretty much everywhere else—last week.
'We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trading partners. Because Europe is always ready for a good deal. So we keep it on the table,' von der Leyen said in a statement.
Trump, however, told reporters Monday afternoon that the deal isn't enough. 'The EU has been very tough over the years, I always say it was formed to really do damage to the United States and trade,' Trump said. 'That's the reason it was formed.'
In case you forgot, the EU was not, in fact, formed to screw the United States but to foster peace and cooperation among European countries post-World War II. It was founded in 1992 and is made up of 27 countries and seven major institutions that manage a common budget, facilitate trade, and make laws.
The president continued his rewrite of European history, claiming the EU was formed solely 'to create a unified force against the United States for trade.' He added that the union has used NATO—an alliance that the United States is a part of—to take advantage of the United States.
The outlandish rant is Trump's way of saying, no, he won't accept von der Leyen's deal. It's a refusal that will likely result in further retaliatory tariffs on the United States as an economic recession looms.