World responds with anger to Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium imports

US President Donald Trump is facing a backlash from almost every corner of the globe, including in his own backyard, after his plan to impose tariffs on metal imports sparked talk of a global trade war.

After proposing tariffs on Thursday of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium from other countries, Mr Trump warned the following day that “trade wars are good and easy to win”.

China’s Commerce Ministry shot back later on Friday, saying Mr Trump’s plan would “seriously damage multilateral trade mechanisms represented by the World Trade Organisation and will surely have huge impact on normal international trade order”, Associated Press reported.

The EU has drawn up a list of US products on which to apply tariffs if Mr Trump follows through on his plan.

“We will put tariffs on Harley-Davidson, on bourbon and on blue jeans – Levi’s,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told German television.

Canada, the biggest supplier of steel and aluminium to the US, will bear the brunt of Mr Trump’s plans.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said any US tariffs on steel and aluminium would be “absolutely unacceptable” and vowed to continue to engage with American officials on the issue.

The International Monetary Fund also expressed concern, saying the proposed tariffs would probably damage the US economy and those of other nations.

But the impact of such plans on the GCC and the rest of the region could be mixed.

Although experts point out that the Middle East does not export significant volumes of steel to the US, the region accounts for about 20 per cent of global aluminium production.

GCC producers, which include the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, have yet to respond publicly to Mr Trump’s proposals.

In the US capitol, Mr Trump’s controversial proposal has provoked rarely seen urgency

among Republican legislators, who are scrambling to convince the president he will spark a trade war that could stall the economy’s recent gains if he does not reverse course.

Although Republicans in Congress have learnt to ignore Mr Trump’s policy whims, knowing whatever he says one day could very well change by the next, they say the stakes on trade tariffs are too high for them to sit back and wait for the president to change his mind.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan called Mr Trump after his surprise announcement, and continues to hope the White House will reconsider the decision.

Meanwhile, Senator Orrin Hatch described the plan as not wise, while Senator Pat Toomey said it was a “big mistake”.