How the world plans to retaliate against Trump and Republicans on trade
President Donald Trump declared Friday that “trade wars are good, and easy to win.”
But European Union officials are already planning retaliatory actions, targeting products from politically sensitive Republican-run states, including the imposition of tariffs on Harley-Davidsons made in Speaker Paul Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin; duties on bourbon made in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky; and duties on orange juice from Florida, a critical swing state.
“We will put tariffs on Harley-Davidson, on bourbon and on blue jeans — Levis,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told German television. Commissioners from the EU’s 28 member countries plan to discuss the countermeasures on Wednesday.
Across the globe, Trump’s plan to impose a 25 percent duty on steel and a 10 percent duty on aluminum imports would alienate dozens of countries in Europe, North America and Asia, many of them longtime allies and trading partners, who could turn the tables by targeting key U.S. sectors such as agriculture and aircraft, based in states that elected him and fellow Republicans.
“The potential for escalation is real, as we have seen from the initial responses of others,” said World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevêdo. “A trade war is in no one’s interests. The WTO will be watching the situation very closely.”
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Trade wars: Tariffs on bourbon, Harleys and orange juice?https://t.co/kBMX4Q5MXC pic.twitter.com/SLgEvVJ0wH
— POLITICO (@politico) March 3, 2018
As IBD says,
… it’s hard to imagine a clumsier, more ham-handed way of seeking to redress unfair trade practices than a 25% tariff on global steel imports. The collateral damage may include workers from Ford (F) and General Motors (GM), along with American car buyers and — if the Dow Jones industrial average’s 420-point dive on Thursday is any indication — U.S. stock investors.
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