Trump threatens Europe and Canada: "Huge tariffs if you harm the American economy"

President Donald Trump threatened today, Thursday, March 27, to increase tariffs imposed on the European Union and Canada if they cooperate to "inflict economic harm on the United States." The threat was made in a post by Trump on the "Truth Social" platform, where he wrote: "If the European Union collaborates with Canada to inflict economic harm on the United States, we will impose significantly higher tariffs, far exceeding those currently planned, on both of them; in order to protect the best friend of these two countries ever." This comes a day after Trump announced imposing a 25% tariff on car imports, expanding the scope of the global trade war, drawing criticism and threats of retaliation from U.S. allies affected by the decision. In response, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the move as "bad for companies, and worse for consumers," while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the tariffs as a "direct attack on Canadian workers," confirming that his country is considering retaliatory measures. The new tariffs on cars and light trucks are set to take effect on April 3, one day after the implementation of retaliatory tariffs targeting countries responsible for the majority of the U.S. trade deficit. These measures add to a series of previous tariffs imposed by the United States on steel and aluminum imports, as well as goods imported from Mexico, Canada, and China. In a related context, the European Union announced a delay in the first set of retaliatory measures until mid-April, which includes imposing a 50% tariff on American whiskey. In response, Trump threatened to impose a 200% tariff on all types of wine and other alcoholic beverages coming from the European Union.