Investing.com - European markets traded lower on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose 25% tariffs on imports from the European Union.
At 09:06 ET (14:06 GMT), the pan-European Stoxx 600 had dipped by 0.6%, while Germany’s DAX was down 1.1% and France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.7%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 inched up by 0.1%.
On Wednesday, Trump floated that he could soon enact a 25% "reciprocal" tariff on cars and other goods coming from the European Union. A spokesperson for the European Commission said the EU will respond "firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade," Reuters reported.
Trump also appeared to indicate that postponed 25% import tariffs on Canada and Mexico could be delayed by roughly another month, saying the levies would come into effect on April 2.
"I have to tell you that, you know, on April 2, I was going to do it on April 1," Trump said. "But I’m a little bit superstitious, I made it April 2, the tariffs go on. Not all of them but a lot of them."
However, a White House official later said that Trump’s prior deadline of March 4 was still in effect "as of this moment," with a review of actions taken by Canada and Mexico to boost border security pending.
Amid the trade tensions, investors are also watching key economic data releases, including Spain’s inflation rate, Italy’s business and consumer confidence figures, and eurozone economic sentiment indicators, which could provide further insights into the region’s economic health.
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(Scott Kanowsky contributed reporting.)