President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the European Union was born to "screw" the United States, laying bare his hostility to the longtime US partner as he detailed new tariffs.

Trump's month back in the White House has been marked by soaring friction between Washington and its European allies, with the United States abruptly shifting gears on support for Ukraine and Germany's likely next leader urging Europe to seek take greater control of its own defense.

"Look, let's be honest, the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States," Trump told reporters as he gathered his cabinet for the first time.

"That's the purpose of it, and they've done a good job of it. But now I'm president," Trump said.

The European Commission shot back that the European Union is "the world's largest free market" and has been "a boon for the United States."

Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt, writing on X, said Trump had a "seriously distorted view of history" as the EU was "actually set up to prevent war on the European continent."

Trump said at his cabinet meeting that the European Union has "really taken advantage of us."

The United States had a trade deficit to the 27-nation bloc of $235.6 billion last year, according to official US figures.

Asked if he had made a decision on tariff levels for the European Union, Trump added: "We'll be announcing it very soon and it'll be 25 percent, generally speaking."

He said that cars would be among the products to be hit, grim news for Germany whose export-driven economy has been in a slump.

The European Commission warned it would respond "firmly and immediately" to new tariffs.

Meanwhile, while speaking to reporters during the meeting, Trump said he has a "very good" relationship with President Xi Jinping.

"I have a great relationship with President Xi. We want them to come in and invest. I see so many things saying that we don't want China in this country. That's not right. We want them to invest in the United States," said Trump. (Agencies)