Donald Trump to declare USA, EU trade war, according to report
GETTY The US President is expected to announce the tariffs as early as Thursday
The US President is expected to announce the tariffs as early as today, according to The Wall Street Journal. The decision will undoubtedly ruffle feathers in Europe with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Theresa May issuing a joint statement that the countries should be ready in the event the US tariffs went ahead. The statement read: “The European Union should be ready to decisively defend its interests within the framework of multilateral trade rules.” The tariffs are a culmination of a dramatic three months since the US President announced a 25 per cent steel tariff and 10 aluminium tariff.
Trump initially postponed the tariffs with a May 1 expiration but after talks did not progress with the EU on an alternative solution, the President delayed his deadline until June 1. At an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) meeting on Wednesday, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross attacked the EU countries for not coming to the table while the tariffs were in effect. Mr Ross cited the willingness of China to discuss a deal as an example of how negotiations should go. He said: "China is an interesting case in point.
GETTY Wilbur Ross attacked the EU countries for not coming to the table while the tariffs were in effect
"They are paying the tariffs, they came into effect in March and they haven’t used this as an excuse not to talk. “It’s only the EU insisting we can’t negotiate if there are tariffs." But before the exemption, the EU threatened to respond with tariffs on US goods like motorcycles, blue jeans, and bourbon. According to the Wall Street Journal, the trade war could be avoided by a last-minute deal. But an agreement seems to be highly unlikely.
GETTY Hua Chunying is urging the United States to keep its promise