La trade war between Ue e Usa lights up again. After the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed by Washington, which officially started today Wednesday March 12, Brussels raises his shield and prepares his response: from 1 April, a series of “strong but proportionate” countermeasures will hit numerous products symbol of made in USA, including whiskey, motorcycles, jeans and agricultural products. An action that will affect trade for a value of 26 billion of dollars approximately.
“The Commission deeply regrets the decisions of the United States, which are unjustified and harmful to global trade,” he said. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. The battle is set to be tough, with Brussels ready to defend European businesses and workers. “These tariffs disrupt supply chains. They bring uncertainty to the economy. Jobs are at stake. Prices will rise. In Europe and in the United States,” added von der Leyen.
From Trump to U-turn on Canada: The American “Strategy”
Chaos reigns over Trump's tariffs. Yesterday was yet another U-turn by the US presidentInitially, the White House tycoon had decided to Double tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50% from Canada, in response to the Ontario governor's threat to cut off electricity supplies to Minnesota and other American states. However, after a meeting in Washington with Ottawa officials, Washington backtracked. As explained by economic adviser Peter Navarro, imports from Canada will be subject to the initially planned 25% tariff and no longer 50%. The hope is that Europe's countermeasures will bring the US president back to reason. As the president of the EU Commission stressed: "Customs duties are taxes. They are bad for companies and even worse for consumers." But let's see which American goods will be hit by Brussels.
Trump's Tariffs, the European Response: A Two-Stage Strategy
To counter Trump's tariffs, the European Commission has developed a strategy divided in two stagesThe first one will start on 1 ° April and provides for the reintroduction of countermeasures already adopted in the previous trade dispute with the United States. The duties will affect American products, such as bourbon, motorcycles as the Harley Davidson e yacht, hitting American exports to the EU for about 8 billions of dollars.
The second phase, decidedly more incisive, will start in mid-April (by 13) with the support of the Member States. Brussels will introduce new measures which will affect not only theheavy industry – steel, aluminum and household appliances – but also consumer goods including textiles, leather goods, tools domestic, materials Plastics, products Wood e food goods, including meat, dairy, nuts, vegetables and sugar. The goal is clear: to offset the economic blow inflicted by Trump's tariffs.
“The new tariffs will allow us to react proportionately. We cannot accept such unjustified trade restrictions,” said Commission Vice President Stephane Sejourné.
Global Reactions: China, Japan and UK on Alert
The trade escalation between the EU and the US has not left other global players indifferent. China he immediately threatened countermeasures to protect its interests: “We will respond decisively if the United States continues to try to suppress China,” he warned Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
even the Japan he expressed strongly concern for exclusion from the countries exempted from the new tariffs, underlining the potential damage to bilateral relations with Washington.
Il UK, instead, chooses the diplomatic path. Jonathan Reynolds, British Trade Secretary, has announced that London will not resort to immediate countermeasures, instead focusing on negotiations for a broader trade agreement with the United States.
Australia disappointed: “A hostile act”
Also 'Australia has been hit by US tariff crackdown. The prime minister Anthony albanese He called Washington's decision "a hostile and completely unjustified act." Believing, after a phone call with Trump in February, that Australia would be exempt from the tariffs, Albanese said he was "disappointed" and stressed that these measures do nothing but harm global economic growth, fueling inflation and instability.
Six Billion in Extra Tariffs: The Cost to the US
The economic impact of the European countermeasures will not be only symbolic: the new tariffs will force American importers to pay up to 6 billion euros in additional duties. A figure much higher than the EU's response to the first trade war unleashed by Trump, which had affected "only" 7 billion in US exports. With this move, Brussels is not only protecting its market, but is sending a clear message to global partners: the European Union will not remain inactive in the face of unilateral decisions that undermine the stability of international trade.
