The European Union has fought back against US President Donald Trump's threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on the bloc's exports to the United States, as well as his accusation that the EU was formed to "screw" the US.

During his first Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday, Trump told reporters, "We have made a decision and we'll be announcing it very soon, and it'll be 25 percent, generally speaking, and that'll be on cars, and all of the things."

The president repeated his longstanding criticism that Europe has been taking advantage of the US. "They don't accept our cars. They don't accept, essentially our farm products. ... And we accept everything of them."

He also alleged that the EU was established to "screw" the US.

"Look, let's be honest, the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. That's the purpose of it, and they've done a good job of it. But now I'm president," he said.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, quickly responded with strong messages.

"The EU will react firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade, including when tariffs are used to challenge legal and nondiscriminatory policies," a commission spokesperson said.

The spokesperson described the EU as "a boon" for the US, adding that the EU single market "has facilitated trade, reduced costs for US exporters, and harmonized standards and regulations across 27 countries".

According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, US total goods trade with the EU was estimated at $976 billion last year, with EU exports to the US hitting $606 billion and enjoying a surplus of $236 billion, up 12.9 percent over the previous year.

A Bloomberg report said Trump's tariffs could hit as much as $29.3 billion of EU exports.

Trump's threat came shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Washington, where he sought to persuade Trump to support Ukraine and exempt the EU from tariff wars.

On Wednesday, Macron briefed EU leaders via a video conference on his meeting with Trump. He also held talks with Friedrich Merz, the likely next German chancellor, in Paris.

German carmakers have been struggling to cope with potential US punitive tariffs. Mercedes-Benz and Audi have both talked about expanding their output in North America to shield themselves from the tariffs.

Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt said Trump "has a seriously distorted view of history".

"Now he claims the EU was set up'to screw the United States'. It was actually set up to prevent war on the European continent," Bildt wrote on X.

Causing chaos

Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, warned that Trump's tariffs could cause chaos in US pharmaceutical companies.

"If the tariff on the EU is going to be 25 percent — as Donald Trump suggested today — I will enjoy seeing the frantic efforts by US pharmaceutical companies to find a way around the new import tax," he wrote on X.

EU leaders meeting on March 6 for an emergency summit are expected to focus on Ukraine, but are now likely to talk about the tariffs, too.

The bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is visiting Washington on Wednesday and Thursday, was told that she would not meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio "due to scheduling issues", according to a European Commission spokesperson.

Leaders including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have not publicly commented on the tariffs. The commission presented its Clean Industrial Deal on Wednesday, a plan aimed at supporting the competitiveness and resilience of the EU industry.

"The deal will accelerate decarbonization while securing the future of manufacturing in Europe," the commission said.