The U.S. will begin charging double-digit tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, angering some of the country’s closest allies and weighing on financial markets.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters Thursday that tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum will begin at midnight after more than two months of negotiations failed to deliver the results the Trump administration wanted.
President Trump announced the duties in March, claiming the penalties were necessary to ensure the U.S. maintains a viable steel industry. He granted exemptions to Europe, along with Mexico and Canada, however, in an effort to reach an alternate solution. The deadline was June 1.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.7 percent after Ross’s announcement, and remains 8 percent below a January peak as investors grapple with concern that Trump’s protectionist policies will lead to an economically damaging trade war.
The European Union, which has already threatened retaliation, expressed immediate outrage.
……..
- Discussion
-
#BREAKING: Trump slaps steel, aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and EU https://t.co/6lUUIcH8WP pic.twitter.com/WBkKFYTJBz
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 31, 2018
About those new tariffs: Europe, Canada & Mexico aren't China. You don’t treat allies the same way you treat opponents. Blanket protectionism is a big part of why we had a Great Depression. "Make America Great Again" shouldn’t mean "Make America 1929 Again."
— Senator Ben Sasse (@SenSasse) May 31, 2018
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.