Donald Trump has asked top cabinet officials to undertake a sweeping review of US trade policy that could see the European Union hit with new “reciprocal tariffs”.

The US president signed a memorandum on Thursday tasking his commerce secretary nominee, Howard Lutnick, and his top trade official, Jamieson Greer, to oversee a country-by-country analysis of US trade ties and propose specific “remedies” in cases of alleged discrimination against American companies.

Such remedies, which Lutnick said could enter into force by April 2, will seek to match the tariff rate other countries charge on US imports. They will also address other cases of “unfair” economic protectionism, such as high levels of state subsidies.

“I’ve decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America,” Trump said. “In almost all cases, they’re charging us vastly more than we charge them but those days are over.”

Trump also took specific aim at the EU’s “very nasty” trade policies, repeating his complaints at Brussels’ decisions to fine US tech firms such as Google, Apple, and Facebook.

“We all love Europe, love the countries in Europe, but the European Union has been absolutely brutal on trade,” he said, adding: “The EU’s been very nasty and… they haven’t treated us properly.”

Trump also suggested that countries could avoid new duties by shifting production to the US. “If you build here, you have no tariffs whatsoever,” he said.

The tariffs are likely to add to the woes of a European economy already reeling from a litany of challenges including weak demand, high energy prices, and growing competition from China.

The EU’s tariff rate is larger than that of the US in many critical export-dependent sectors, according to economists at ING. The bloc’s 10% tax on cars is four times higher than the US rate, while duties on chemicals and food are 1 and 3.5 percentage points higher respectively.

However, the US’s overall average tariff rate of 3.95% is slightly higher than the EU’s average of 3.5%.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Trump’s announcement, Peter Navarro, White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, also complained about the EU’s high VAT rate.

“No wonder Germany sells eight times as many cars to us as we do to them,” Navarro said. “President Trump is no longer going to tolerate that.”

The reciprocal tariffs mark Trump’s latest attempt to boost domestic manufacturing and shrink the US’s widening global trade deficit.

Earlier this week, Trump announced a 25% duty on all steel and aluminium imports, which will take effect on 12 March. He has also imposed an additional 10% levy on all Chinese goods and threatened Mexico and Canada with duties of up to 25%.

The European Commission, which oversees the bloc’s trade policy, did not immediately respond to Trump’s announcement.

According to US government data, the US global deficit in goods and services swelled by 17% to reach $918.4 billion last year.

Washington’s trade deficit in goods with the EU saw a similarly sharp increase over the period, from $208.7 billion to $235.6 billion. Most of the growth was due to a sharp rise in imports, which increased by $29.4 billion.

However, the US runs a substantial surplus in services with the EU, which reached €104 billion in 2023, according to the EU.

[DE]