Trump sparks transatlantic trade war by ordering tariffs on EU steel
BRITAIN HAS hit out at United States President Donald Trump administration’s “deeply disappointing” decision to impose tariffs on EU steel which sparked a transatlantic trade war yesterday.
Representatives of UK industry warned the levies will “damage prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic”.
Mr Trump’s commerce secretary Wilbur Ross has said the US will impose a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel and 10 per cent on aluminium from the EU, Canada and Mexico. Responding, European Commission president Jean Claude-Juncker said the EU would refer the tariffs to the World Trade Organisation for dispute settlement and would impose tit-for-tat duties on “a number of imports from the US.”
A UK Government spokesman said: “We are deeply disappointed that the US has decided to apply tariffs to steel and aluminium imports from the EU on national security grounds.
“The UK and other European Union countries are close allies of the US and should be permanently and fully exempted from the American measures on steel and aluminium.
“We have made clear to the US Government at the highest levels the importance of UK steel and aluminium to its businesses and defence projects.
“We will continue to work closely with the EU and US administration to achieve a permanent exemption and to ensure that UK workers are protected and safeguarded.”
Shadow Steel Minister Gill Furniss said the tariffs would deal a “catastrophic blow” to the industry and steelworkers across the country. The Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough MP said: “A trade war is not the answer to the serious issue of global overcapacity that is affecting steel producers. Trump’s tariffs are a recipe for disaster – everybody will lose out.
“Theresa May and her Government have approached the ongoing crisis with utter complacency and have proved too feeble to stand up to Trump when it was most needed. They have let our steelworkers down.
“The Government has lots of questions to answer. It must urgently come before Parliament with a clear strategy on what action it will take support the sector and to avert a national disaster.”
The UK should be permanently and fully exempted from tariffs. A UK Government spokesman.