Money

Allies, rivals alike hit out at Trump trade tariffs

March 11, 2018 03:18·
Dow Jones

Dow Jones

"Many of the countries that treat us the worst on trade and on the military are our allies, as they call them", he complained.

President Donald Trump is announcing steep tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum to address what he says is an "assault on our country". They raised concerns that broad tariffs could "harm America's jobs, manufacturers and consumers".

Fox argued it was "doubly absurd" to target Britain with steel tariffs on national security grounds when it only provided the United States with one percent of its imports and made steel for the American military.

A trade war is essentially an escalating set of tit-for-tat trade restrictions imposed on each other by some trading countries. Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, which represents more than 2,200 U.S. companies, reflected these concerns. For exports, aerospace parts, agricultural products and motor vehicles are most vulnerable "to potential retaliatory actions", the UBS analysts said.

U.S. automaker Ford, among the businesses with the most at stake, echoed the warnings on rising costs. Still, many European officials argue the American national security case is so flimsy - just 3 percent of USA aluminum and steel production goes to military purposes- that it still violates WTO rules.

Global markets were buoyed by the news that Trump would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but uncertainty surrounding the trade row kept a lid on gains. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan anxious about the "unintended consequences" that the action could bring.

Senator Jeff Flake said he would introduce a law to nullify the tariffs, while Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Orrin Hatch, also criticised the tariffs, but said he would work with the White House to "mitigate the damage".

Gareth Stace, the director of industry group UK Steel, responded: "Such tariffs would have a profound and detrimental impact on the UK steel sector, which exported some 350,000 tonnes of products to the USA in 2017, over 7% of its total exports. The outcome will only be harmful", Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on the sidelines of an annual meeting of China's parliament.

Transfer: Neymar wants to return to Barcelona
A move which was more or less forced onto Barca saw one of their most high profile players leave for a huge £198 million. There is also still a pending court case over outstanding bonus payments between the two parties.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Position in Kilroy Realty Corp (KRC)
Barclays Capital maintained United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) on Thursday, February 22 with "Underweight" rating. It increased, as 20 investors sold KRC shares while 76 reduced holdings. 28 funds opened positions while 91 raised stakes.

'A Wrinkle in Time' review: Even Oprah can't save disappointing fantasy dud
The cinematic approach "fails at things the book won't fail at" but "succeeds at things that the book can't do" according to Lee. They sought the banning of the book from libraries and schools because of this for fear that it would influence children.

The US's "abuse" of national security concerns as a reason for implementing the measures will lead to "a serious attack on normal global trade order", the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its web site, adding that "China is firmly opposed". The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has powers to sanction countries that arbitrarily impose tariffs. That's why the strongest official reactions to the imposition of tariffs came from the relevant Canadian and Brazilian Ministers.

Foreign Minister Taro Kono said that the measure could have "a grave impact on the economic relationship of Japan and the U.S.", as well as the global economy.

"If you don't want to pay tax, bring your plant to the United States of America", added Trump, flanked by steel and aluminum workers. "A fraction of one cent isn't going to change life".

In a statement in response to the exemption, Mexico's Economy Secretariat said that Mexico recognizes the problem of global steel oversupply, adding that "the negotiation process for the modernization of NAFTA is running its normal course". The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. As it happens, a staunch US ally, Canada, is by far the biggest foreign supplier of both metals to the United States and therefore stood to be hurt the most by the tariffs. Concentrating on specific outcomes with a mercantilist mentality will only lead to politically managed trade, which runs exactly opposite to the goal of founding a free and fair worldwide trading system.

Argentina's Foreign Ministry expressed confidence that it would join the exemptions list.

Former US president George W Bush tried to imposed tariffs of up to 30% on steel imports in 2002, but the WTO rejected the tariffs.

The EU's trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom warned on Friday, at a panel discussion in Brussels, that imposing tariffs is not the way to resolve overcapacity in the steel sector. "We will have to protect our industry".

Seoul will "actively respond" to the tariffs, the ministry said, but it didn't specify whether it would take any retaliatory action against USA goods.

Recommended News

Join The Conversation

We are pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news.
Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper.
Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.