US President Donald Trump threatened to escalate the global trade war with further tariffs on European Union (EU) goods if the EU plans to follow through with its planned counter-tariffs up to €26 billion on certain US products next month. This comes just hours after Trump’s 25 percent duties on all US steel and aluminium imports took effect.
Trump said he would impose additional penalties if the EU follows through with its plan to enact counter-tariffs on some US goods next month. “Whatever they charge us, we’re charging them,” Trump was quoted by Reuters.
According to The Guardian, the president of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen, called the 25 percent US levies on global imports of the metals “unjustified trade restrictions”. She said she deeply regrets this measure in a statement where she announced “strong, but proportionate” countermeasures would come into force from April 1.
“Tariffs are taxes, they are bad for business and worse for consumers. They are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy,” she said as per the report.
EU officials hope pressure on Republican-led states and U.S. businesses will prompt a trade deal. “We will always remain open to negotiation,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
The recent trade wars, which began with Mexico and Canada, rattled investors, consumers and business confidence, and added to this, it has raised recession fears. He also has frayed relations with Canada, a close ally and major trading partner, by repeatedly threatening to annex the neighbouring country.
‘Unfairly Treated’ Says Canada
Canada is the biggest supplier of steel and aluminium to the US, but it announced a retaliatory tariff of 25 percent on those metals, along with computers, sports equipment and other products worth $20 billion in total. Canada has already imposed tariffs worth a similar amount on US goods in response to broader tariffs by Trump.
Canada’s federal government hit back with tariffs on USD 29.8 billion worth of American goods effective March 13 morning, Reuters reported. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc described Trump’s action as “unjustified and unjustifiable.”
LeBlanc stated, “We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminium industries are being unfairly targeted.”
The US and Canada are embroiled in a trade dispute, with the US imposing metals tariffs that took effect just after midnight. These tariffs are separate from previous ones imposed by President Trump to pressure Canada into tightening its border controls on drugs and migrants.
