US President Donald Trump has said he is planning to hit goods made in the European Union with tariffs of 25%.

“We’ll be announcing it very soon,” he told reporters at an appearance with members of his cabinet. “It’ll be 25% generally speaking and that will be on cars and all other things.”

The appearance sparked new questions about the president’s trade plans, as he also appeared to raise the possibility that looming tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, set to come into force on 4 March, might be postponed again.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.

In Trump’s comments on Wednesday he made clear that trade with Europe was in his sights, repeating his criticism of European policies, which he said put American exporters of food products and cars at a disadvantage.

“The European Union was formed to screw the United States – that’s the purpose of it and they’ve done a good job of it,” he said. “But now I’m president.”

The EU rejected the president’s claims, saying the creation of a regional market had made doing business in Europe easier for American firms.

The spokesperson for the commission said the EU would react “firmly and immediately against unjustified tariffs”.

“We’re ready to partner if you play by the rules. But we will also protect our consumers and businesses at every turn. They expect no less from us,” the spokesperson said.

Tariffs are a tax on imports that is collected by the government and paid for by the companies bringing in the goods.

Trump has vowed to use the levies to boost US manufacturing, raise money and push other countries to change policies he opposes.

Since taking office, he has raised tariffs of 10% on goods from China and taken steps to hit other imports with duties, including directing his staff to develop recommendations for custom “reciprocal” tariffs for each country.

But he has also suspended some of those plans, leaving many businesses and analysts guessing as to whether he is prepared to carry out his threats.

Earlier this month, he ordered 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, America’s top two trading partners. But he suspended the duties before they went into effect until 4 March, to allow for talks on border security.

On Monday, Trump said he expected tariffs of 25% on goods from Mexico and Canada to come into effect “on schedule”.

At Wednesday’s meeting, when asked for an update, he said the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada would go into effect on 2 April.

That is the same day that the Commerce Department is supposed to deliver its wider recommendations for “reciprocal” tariffs.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters that “the overall is April 2” , distinguishing between tariffs tied to concerns about drug trafficking and migration from Mexico and Canada.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all headed lower in mid-day trade.