E.U. HITS BACK AT TRUMP
Brussels announces list of US products that can be slapped with countermeasures
THE European Union (EU) on Monday said Europe would not waver against trade “bullies” as a row with United States President Donald Trump over controversial steel and aluminium tariffs deepened.
The jab from Brussels came after the US tycoon singled out Europe in the surging trade dispute, threatening to tax German cars if the EU doesn’t lower barriers to US products.
European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said that in some places, trade has been blamed “for the pains of globalisation, or they used it as a scapegoat or they think we can live behind walls and borders”.
“Recently we have seen how it is used as a weapon to threaten and intimidate us. But we are not afraid, we will stand up to the bullies,” she said.
Trump in a tweet provoked the Europeans still further on Monday saying Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross would speak with the EU side “about eliminating the large tariffs and barriers they use against the US”.
These were “not fair to our farmers and manufacturers”, Trump added, though the EU could not immediately confirm any formal approach by Washington.
The US leader’s threats were part of a dispute sparked by his announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, although the “America First” Trump administration had said it would consider exceptions and had already spared Mexico and Canada.
The announcement of duties of 25 per cent on imported steel and 10 per cent on aluminium has stung the EU, coming as a surprise to US allies and also to many in Washington.
Brussels has pushed back the hardest against Washington’s shock measures, loudly announcing a list of US products — including peanuts and motorcycles — it could hit with countermeasures.
In revealing those measures, European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker taunted Trump, saying the EU could match “stupid with stupid”.
France’s Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said: “We don’t want a trade war, but we are going to defend our economic interests, our factories, our industry and our jobs”.
Other trade partners, including Japan and China, also voiced anger and pledged retaliation if the US tariffs were enacted as expected on March 23.
Many traditionally pro-trade US Republican lawmakers also fiercely opposed the tariffs, saying they might help steel and aluminium makers, but would mean higher prices on many other products.