President Trump defended his tariffs on steel and aluminum during a press conference Tuesday, and promised to deal with U.S. trading partners in “a very loving way” amid rising fears of a trade war.
“The U.S. has been taken advantage of by other countries, both friendly and not so friendly, for many, many decades. We have been mistreated by many,” Trump said during a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.
The president roundly criticized the European Union, which is said to be preparing retaliatory tariffs on popular U.S. brands if Trump proceeds with his plan to install 25 percent and 10 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, respectively.
“The European Union has been particularly tough on the United States. They make it almost impossible for us to do business with them and yet they send their cars and everything back into the United States,” Trump said.
Lofven later pushed back and stressed the need “for us to find a way to cooperate between the European Union and the United States.”
Trump said his administration is going to proceed with his tariffs in a way that does not threaten the relationship between the U.S. and its European allies.
“We’re going to do it in a very loving way,” he said. “They’ll like us better and respect us more.”
It wasn’t clear whether his remarks signaled a shift away from the global tariffs Trump has said he would recommend. Republicans in Congress have said they are pushing the White House to more narrowly focus the tariffs, instead of having them apply to all imports.
