‘Trade wars are good and easy to win’

WASHINGTON— US President Donald Trump tweeted that trade wars are good, a day after he said the United States would apply duties of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum to protect US producers. “When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,” Trump’s tweet read. “Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-wewin big. It’s easy!” Fears of an escalating trade war triggered selloffs on Wall Street and in Asia and Europe with economists saying the impact of price increases for users of steel and aluminum, such as the auto and oil industries, will destroy more jobs than curbs on imports create.