U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly seems to be a big fan of dropping all “tariffs, barriers and subsidies” with at least one trading partner, mere hours after he tweeted “tariffs are the greatest.”
On Tuesday night, Trump issued a tweet proposing that both the U.S. and the European Union drop all three as European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker prepares to visit Washington for trade talks on Wednesday.
WATCH: Trump says U.S. and EU working towards zero tariffs
“That would finally be called free market and fair trade!” Trump tweeted.
Get daily National news
“Hope they do it, we are ready — but they won’t!”
The tweet came on the same day that Trump issued this one, amid news that his administration was starting a $12 billion plan to help U.S. farmers amid trade disputes.
READ MORE: Trump tweets ‘Tariffs are the greatest!’ as $12B in emergency aid announced for U.S. farmers
Trump’s trade wars have seen the U.S. hit Canada, the European Union and Mexico with tariffs on aluminum and steel — a move that has seen the Great White North fire back with retaliatory tariffs on $16.6-billion of U.S. steel, aluminium and consumer products.
Coverage of trade on Globalnews.ca:
-
![]()
President Trump says tariffs aren’t retaliatory, they’re ‘reciprocal’ -
![]()
Trump says U.S. farmers will be biggest beneficiary of his tariffs -
![]()
G20 ministers call for greater dialogue on trade tensions -
![]()
Alberta economist on NAFTA and trade tariffs -
![]()
The end of an era for big international trade deals? -
![]()
What Trump hopes to accomplish with trade war -
![]()
Trump announces new tariffs on $200B in Chinese products as trade dispute continues with China
The U.S. has also imposed tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese products and threatened tariffs on $500 billion more in goods. China, meanwhile, retaliated with duties on pork and soybeans.
EU officials have managed expectations about the progress that Juncker is likely to make with Trump.
WATCH: What is a trade war? How do tariffs work? And how will it impact Canadian consumers?
— With files from The Associated Press
- How RCMP is responding to ‘unprecedented’ threats against MPs, officials
- Nearly 30 years later, is Quebec headed for another independence referendum?
- Mark Carney makes his leadership pitch to a skeptical Liberal caucus
- Speculation grows that Austrian far-right leader Herbert Kickl will be asked to form a government
Comments