President Donald #Trump said Saturday (Mar 3) that the #EuropeanUnion's trade policies have 'been brutal' to the #UnitedStates, a sentiment he shared both online and in person after #EU leaders condemned his recently announced 25% tariff on steel and 10% tariff on aluminum imports.

Trump doubled down on his stance, tweeting 'our jobs and wealth are being given to other countries that have taken advantage of us for years. They laugh at what fools our leaders have been. No more!' Taking another hit at the EU, Trump tweeted about it again, this time suggesting that if the EU raises tariffs more, so too will the United States. The President's comments came just days after several European leaders reacted sharply to the President's tariff announcement.


#WorldEconomy #Protectionism #Europe #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWar #EconomicPolicy #Economy #TradePolicy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs
Trump: European Union has 'been brutal' to the US
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/03/politics/donald-trump-european-union-remarks/index.html

A deal to avoid #tradetariffs with the #EU after #Brexit will be imperative as the #UK seeks to safeguard its long-term future. Trade in goods between the UK and the EU - by far its largest trading partner - is worth almost £357bn a year, according to the Lords EU External Affairs Sub-Committee. It said ensuring that key industrial employers - many outside the south east of England - did not face additional trade barriers, was essential to driving growth across the country. The report comes as separate data showed the imminent triggering of #Article50 was dragging on the jobs market, while elsewhere a new economic forecast warned of Brexit uncertainty.


#WorldEconomy #EuropeanEconomy #UKEconomy #EconomicOutlook #Economy #EconomicReform #EconomicRisk #EconomicGrowth
Brexit trade deal 'imperative' for UK growth plans, peers warn
http://news.sky.com/story/brexit-trade-deal-imperative-for-uk-growth-plans-peers-warn-10801078

#JeanClaudeJuncker, #EuropeanCommission president, said that should #Trump make good on his #protectionist promise, the European Union would slap retaliatory tariffs on goods produced in the home states of top Republican officials - including the bourbon prepared in Mitch McConnell’s backyard and Harley-Davidson motorcycles manufactured in Paul Ryan’s.

#France’s economic minister Bruno Le Maire expressed a degree of sympathy for #America’s predicament - French steel has also suffered from the massive subsidies and 'dumping' practices that certain countries use to prop up their domestic production. But Le Maire insisted that 'a trade war between #Europe and the #UnitedStates will only result in losers.' Angela Merkel’s office said that the German chancellor 'rejects' the tariffs, and believes that such a policy could trigger a global trade war. The United States is the biggest importer of #Germany’s rolled steel products, and the second-biggest consumer of the #EuropeanUnion’s.


#WorldEconomy #Protectionism #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWar #EconomicPolicy #Economy #TradePolicy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs
EU Prepares Tariffs on U.S. Bourbon and Jeans, As Trump Calls for Trade War
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/eu-prepares-tariffs-on-u-s-exports-as-trump-vows-trade-war.html

U.S. President Donald #Trump boasted Friday (Mar 2) that 'trade wars are good, and easy to win,' after his threat to tax #steel and #aluminum imports marked the latest flashpoint in simmering tensions over cross-border commerce between #Canada and its largest trading partner. The federal government, already at odds with Washington over the lingering softwood lumber dispute and grievances around ongoing #NAFTA negotiations, now finds itself confronted with a president seemingly keen to pick a trade war.

Prime Minister #JustinTrudeau condemned the proposed tariffs as 'absolutely unacceptable' and warned they would cause 'significant and serious' disruptions on both sides of the border. Trudeau talked up the integrated steel and aluminum markets between the two countries and Canada’s role as a military ally of the U.S., all in hopes of securing an exemption from the punishing tariffs.


#WorldEconomy #Protectionism #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWar #EconomicPolicy #Economy #TradePolicy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs
Trudeau calls Trump’s trade war ‘unacceptable’ as Canadian officials reach out to #US administration
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/03/02/trudeau-calls-trumps-trade-war-unacceptable-as-canadian-officials-reach-out-to-us-administration.html

The #Trump administration on Wednesday (Feb 28) warned that it would vigorously defend US national interests against 'hostile' powers such as #China and #Russia, vowing to use 'all available tools' to combat unfair practices - a sign that the president may be preparing to erect new trade barriers. The administration took credit for launching 'a new era in American trade policy,' reversing decades of multilateral trade policies that it said had damaged US workers and intensifying enforcement efforts. Over the past 13 months, the Commerce Department has initiated 102 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations, nearly double the prior-year figure.


#WorldEconomy #Protectionism #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWar #EconomicPolicy #Economy #TradePolicy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs
Did the Trump administration just announce plans for a trade war with ‘hostile’ China and Russia?
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/2135188/did-trump-administration-just-announce-plans-trade-war-hostile-china-and

#EuropeanCommission President #JeanClaudeJuncker said today he would 'bring forward in the next few days a proposal for WTO-compatible countermeasures against the #US.' to hit back against #steel and #aluminum tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald #Trump. The Commission confirmed Trump’s announced tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum would affect EU exports.

EU trade chief Cecilia Malmström added the #EU would impose safeguard measures on top of any retaliation against the U.S. These trade defenses would help the EU manage diverted flows of steel that had initially been intended for the U.S.


#WorldEconomy #Protectionism #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWar #EconomicPolicy #Economy #TradePolicy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs
EU vows to hit back against Trump in trade war
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-vows-to-hit-back-against-trump-in-trade-war/

Few topics seem to rankle President #Trump so much as #America’s 'very bad deals' with its trading partners. But the U.S. isn’t alone in taking a tough stance on trade. International tensions are running high, and could come to a head this year as the U.S. renegotiates NAFTA, runs up deficits with #Europe, and inches closer to a trade war with #China.

The U.S. #tradedeficit grew 12% last year to $566bn - the largest since 2008 - intensifying the debate about what’s best for American businesses and workers when it comes to international trade. It’s a matter of debate whether those deficits are damaging the economy, but the shortfall has become an area of 'maniacal focus' for the administration, according to Brookings senior fellow Joshua Meltzer, adding to the uncertainty for global business.


#WorldEconomy #Protectionism #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWar #EconomicPolicy #Economy #TradePolicy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs
As Donald Trump Flirts With Trade Wars, These Are the Deals to Watch
http://fortune.com/2018/02/28/trump-trade-nafta-china-eu/

The #EU is targeting products with political punch, revisiting a list compiled during George W. Bush-era trade disputes of symbolic American brands. Potentially in the EU's sights: items such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles, whose corporate headquarters is in House Speaker Paul Ryan's home state of Wisconsin. Bourbon is another target, having enjoyed a surge in exports to the EU. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's home state of Kentucky exported $154m worth of bourbon to the EU, up from $128m in 2016, according to data from the International Trade Commission.

The counterpunch from #China could land harder because of the scale of trade between the two countries and the reliance of American farmers on China as an export destination. China's Ministry of Commerce is already investigating whether to limit imports of U.S. #sorghum, a cereal grain used to feed livestock, in response to previous tariffs from the White House on solar panels and washing machines.


#WorldEconomy #Protectionism #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWar #EconomicPolicy #Economy #TradePolicy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs
EU and China consider retaliation in response to potential #Trump steel and aluminum tariffs
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/27/eu-china-consider-retaliation-in-response-to-potential-trump-tariffs.html

#China is the main target of possible tough new #UnitedStates trade measures against low-priced imports of #steel and #aluminum. But the sanctions threaten to ensnare #America’s closest allies, particularly #Canada. All of the options presented by the Commerce Department would affect Canada, a longtime supplier of metals to the American military and industry. Imports from #Britain, #Australia, #SouthKorea and other countries could also be hit.

Canada accounted for more than half of American imports of aluminum in 2016, followed distantly by Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Canada also made up the largest share of American steel imports in 2016 - 17% - followed by #Brazil, South Korea, #Mexico and #Turkey. China did not rank among the top 10 suppliers of either metal.


#GlobalEconomy #Protectionism #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWar #EconomicPolicy #Economy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs
Trump Trade Sanctions Aimed at China Could Ensnare Canada
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/25/business/trump-trade-sanctions-aimed-at-china-could-ensnare-canada.html