U.S. allies retaliate against Trump tactics by adding own tariffs

WASHINGTON — Already under fire for his combative trade policies, President Trump on Friday intensified pressure on Canada, demanding that America’s neighbor and close ally “open their markets and take down trade barriers.”

Trump’s tweet came a day after he ignited global condemnation by imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and two other key U.S. allies — Mexico and the European Union.

In response, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he would impose retaliatory tariffs of $12.8 billion on U.S. exports.

Mexico announced a round of counter-tariffs and retaliations aimed straight at the heart of Trump’s base of political support. Along with tariffs on flat steel imports from the U.S., Mexico will impose tariffs on lamps, pork legs and shoulders, sausages and prepared foods, apples, grapes, cranberries, various cheeses and other products. The products were selected to affect exporters in states that are politically important to Trump.

The European Union, on the other hand, filed on Friday a request for consultations at the World Trade Organization. The request means the two sides would have to discuss the tariffs and try to reach a deal. If that fails, after 60 days the EU could ask a WTO panel to rule on the case.

The U.S. had sought use the tariff threat as cudgel to win concessions from Canada and Mexico in talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. But the NAFTA talks sputtered anyway, and the Trump administration imposed the tariffs at midnight Thursday.

Trump took to Twitter Friday to accuse Canada of treating U.S. “farmers very poorly for a long period of time.” And he repeated his inaccurate claim that Canada runs a trade surplus with the United States. In fact, U.S. Commerce Department numbers show, the United States recorded a trade surplus with Canada for each of the past three years.

Trump’s antagonistic trade policies drew international denunciation from two other key allies.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that he told Trump in a phone call that the new U.S. tariffs on European, Mexican and Canadian goods were illegal and a “mistake.”

British Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.S. decision to impose tariffs on European Union steel and aluminum is “unjustified,” and European nations should be permanently exempted.

Trump’s move makes good on his campaign vows to crack down on trading partners that he claims exploit poorly negotiated trade agreements to run up big trade surpluses with the United States.