Trade conflict
Trump describes Europeans as “parasite”
Updated on March 26th, 2025 – 01:33Reading time: 3 min.
In a statement, US President Trump derives “Schmarotzer” in a statement. Before that, members of his government had expressed similar allegations in a chat.
US President Donald Trump described the Europeans as “parasite”. When asked by a journalist, whether he shares a statement in a secret group chat, according to which the Europeans were parceled out, Trump said: “Do you really want an answer?”. Then he continued: “Yes, I think they were worried. The European Union was absolutely terrible to us in the trade.”
Previously, a deep contempt for Europe had been recognized in excerpts from a group chat of members of the Trump government on attacks in Yemen. Vice President JD Vance was quoted with the words: “I just hate helping Europe out of the term.” A participant, according to the “Atlantic” editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, is supposed to be US Defense Minister Pete Hegseth: “I full your disgust of European Schmarotzen. This is pathetic.” (Here you can read the background to the security range of the US government.)
The aim of the attacks on positions of the Huthi militia in Yemen was, according to American information, to ensure the shipping routes again. The user, who is supposed to be Vance, initially claimed and explained that only three percent of the US trade run through the Suez Canal, but European trade runs 40 percent over this route. There is therefore the risk that the American public does not understand why the United States now intervened there. However, he later agreed with the opinion of the Minister of Defense.
Trump has repeatedly snubbed the EU in the past few weeks. There are currently discussions between the EU and the USA to prevent a trade war. A new round of talks on the threatened tariffs from Trump came to an end with an unclear result.
“The hard work continues,” wrote EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic on the short message service X. He had “substantial conversations” with US trade minister Howard Lutnick, the trade officer Jamieson Greer and Trump’s business consultant Kevin Hassett. There was initially no statement on the US side.
From the EU’s point of view, it must be a common goal of avoiding harmful tariffs, said a spokesman in Brussels. Instead, it should be about further expanding the trade and economic relationships between the EU and the USA. These relationships are the strongest in the world.
The EU had announced last Thursday to postpone the planned reintroduction of retaliation tariffs to US goods by two weeks to mid-April. The reaction to the American tariffs to steel and aluminum imports placed in force by US President Donald Trump should therefore not take place until mid-April. The step should make it possible to create additional space for discussions with the US government, it said.
Trump had previously threatened the EU with tariffs of 200 percent on wine, champagne and other alcoholic drinks from France and other EU countries. The United States would shorten these tariffs if the EU did not take the planned customs back on American whiskey, he warned. Trump has also announced that he wanted to impose new tariffs on cars and other goods from the EU. He wants to strengthen the United States as a production location and reduce trade deficits.
The reintroduction of the currently exposed EU tariffs would apply to US products such as bourbon whiskey, game consoles, motorcycles, boats and peanut butter. The height of the additional tariffs is said to be 50 percent-for example for motorcycles from the manufacturer Harley-Davidson and Jack-Daniel’s Whiskey built in the USA. In mid-March, Trump’s tariffs of 25 percent had already come into force on steel and aluminum products.
