Trump Team Targets European Union for Punishing Trade Steps

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Donald Trump
Photographer: Ian Maule/Bloomberg

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By Jenny Leonard and Nancy Cook

February 7, 2024 at 5:00 AM UTC

Updated on

February 7, 2024 at 2:52 PM UTC

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Donald Trump is targeting the European Union for a potential slew of punitive trade measures designed to address long-standing grievances should he retake office, according to people familiar with his team’s nascent economic-platform discussions.

The two sides are still at odds over tariff increases Trump imposed in his first term as president on steel and aluminum, which were partly suspended in 2021 after President Joe Biden took office. If Trump wins in November, the EU undoubtedly will be one of his chief targets on trade, according to conversations with several Trump advisers.