Trade War Accelerates As Trump Metal Tariffs Take Effect

Tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on imports of steel and aluminium have taken effect in a move that will likely accelerate tensions with some of America’s largest trading partners.

It raised an immediate response from the European Union which said it will impose counter tariffs on billions of euros of US goods.

Trump believes the tariffs will boost US steel and aluminium production, but critics say it will raise prices for US consumers and dent economic growth, as US markets sunk on Monday and Tuesday in response to recession fears.

On Tuesday, Trump u-turned on doubling the tariffs on Canada specifically in response to a surcharge Ontario had placed on electricity.

The tariffs mean that US businesses wanting to bring steel and aluminium into the country will have to pay a 25% tax on them.

The EU announced retaliatory tariffs on Wednesday in response on goods worth €26bn (£22bn).

They will be partially introduced 1 April and fully in place on 13 April.
European Union President Ursula von der Leyen said she “deeply regrets this measure” adding that tariffs are “bad for business and worse for consumers”.

“They are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake, prices up, nobody needs that, on both sides, neither in the EU or the US.”

She said the EU’s response was “strong but proportionate” and that the EU remains “open to negotiations”.

However, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), a group representing US steelmakers, welcomed the tariffs saying they will create jobs and boost domestic steel manufacturing.

The group’s president Kevin Dempsey said the move closed a system of exemptions, exclusions and quotas that allowed foreign producers to avoid tariffs.

BBC/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma