Tariffs decision miffs Europe

FRANKFURT, Germany — U.S. allies did not bother to conceal their annoyance Tuesday with the Trump administration’s last-minute decision to delay punitive aluminum and steel tariffs by a month, in their view leaving a sword of Damocles hanging over the global economy.

In Europe, the reprieve was seen not as an act of conciliation or generosity but instead as another 30 days of limbo that will disrupt supply networks and undermine what has been an unusually strong period of growth. The region has pushed for a permanent exemption to the U.S. trade penalties and threatened retaliation otherwise.

European leaders, normally circumspect, are openly irritated that President Donald Trump’s protectionist assault is aimed at them despite decades of military alliance and shared values. They find it absurd that Trump is risking a trade war with Europe, the United States’ biggest trading partner, rather than joining forces to rein in Chinese trade practices they both oppose. And the European Union’s cautious, often ponderous approach to policymaking is clashing directly with Trump’s unpredictability and aggressiveness.

“The U.S. decision prolongs market uncertainty, which is already affecting business decisions,” the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said in a statement Tuesday.

The White House wants to reduce what it maintains is the U.S. trade deficit with the 28-member European Union and is seeking concessions, such as lower tariffs on American cars sold here.

The Europeans say they will discuss the Trump administration’s concerns only after the bloc receives a permanent, unconditional exemption from the tariffs, which they regard as illegal. “We will not negotiate under threat,” the commission said in the statement Tuesday.