U.S. TARIFFS UPEND AGENDA AT G7 MEET
Major allies announce retaliatory measures against stinging duties on steel, aluminium
THE world’s largest economies stood at the precipice of all-out trade war as major United States allies announced retaliation against stinging steel and aluminium tariffs that took effect yesterday.
President Donald Trump’s decision on Thursday not to extend exemptions for Canada and the European Union — the largest sources of foreign aluminium and steel, respectively, for the US — upended the agenda for talks among Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers underway, here.
As Brussels, Ottawa and Mexico City vowed to impose counter-tariffs on billions in US goods, France said it would not negotiate while the tariffs were in effect, lawmakers in Trump’s Republican Party denounced the move and global stock markets sank.
On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump the tariffs were “illegal” and said Europe would respond in a “firm and proportionate manner”.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin conducted bilateral meetings with G7 counterparts from Canada, Germany and Japan at a coastal mountain resort in Canada, with raw differences dominating that atmosphere and Mnuchin likely to receive an earful.
Normally the scene of compromise and trade promotion, the G7 meet took on an air of futility as hopes for common ground threatened to vanish.
“I’ll be stating very clearly our disagreement with the actions they’ve taken,” said Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau.
“I have every expectation that our other allies around the table will express the same sentiments.”
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said his country, and other European nations, would not negotiate while the sanctions were in effect.
The White House, however, said Thursday the tariffs first imposed in March had “major, positive effects on steel and aluminium workers and jobs”.
And the administration’s actions “underscore its commitment to good-faith negotiations with our allies to enhance our national security while supporting American workers,” it added.
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said talks with the European Union had failed to convince Washington that it should continue exempting the trading bloc from the tariffs.
Washington also was removing exemptions for Mexico and Canada because negotiations to revise the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement were “taking longer than we had hoped” and there was no “precise date” for concluding them, said Ross.
In response, Canada announced C$16.6 billion (RM50.97 billion) in retaliatory duties on US goods.
Mexico said it would impose retaliatory duties on a variety of US goods, including steel and a host of agricultural goods, including pork, apples and various cheeses.
EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the 28-nation economic bloc “would announce in the next coming hours counter-balancing measures” in response to the US action.
I’ll be stating very clearly our disagreement with the actions they’ve taken. I have every expectation that our other allies around the table will express the same sentiments
Canadian Finance Minister