Fresh off an announcement of planned tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, President Donald Trump March 3 threatened to do the same for European cars if the European Union follows through with a promise of retaliatory tariffs.
"If the E.U. wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on U.S. companies doing business there, we will simply apply a Tax on their Cars which freely pour into the U.S.," Trump wrote on Twitter. "They make it impossible for our cars (and more) to sell there. Big trade imbalance!"
The exchange of threats was set off March 1 when Trump told a group of executives from major U.S. aluminum and steel processors that he planned to tax imports of steel at 25% and aluminum at 10%. The European Commission responded late that day, suggesting that the move could lead to retaliation.
"We will not sit idly while our industry is hit with unfair measures that put thousands of European jobs at risk," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement. "The EU will react firmly and commensurately to defend our interests."
The European Union is reportedly considering tariffs of 25% on roughly $3.5 billion worth of U.S. exports should Trump follow through with the plan, according to a Reuters report.
Harley-Davidson Inc. motorcycles, Levi Strauss & Co.'s blue jeans and bourbon are among potential targets for retaliation.
"This is basically a stupid process, the fact that we have to do this. But we have to do it," Juncker said ahead of Trump's latest remarks, according to a euronews report. "We can also do stupid. We also have to be this stupid."
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, the EU exported roughly €37.7 billion of passenger cars to the U.S. in 2016. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Volkswagen AG are the two largest European brands by imports, according to figures provided by Statista.
