The European Commission has said there is “no justification” for United States president Donald Trump’s decision to announce tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to the US.
Mr Trump announced plans for a 25 per cent tax on imports of steel and aluminium while travelling from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
The commission, the European Union’s (EU) executive arm which has responsibility for trade policy, said its reaction would “protect the interests of European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified measures”.
The commission said it had not received any official notification from the White House about planned tariffs on European exports of steel to the US. “We will not respond to broad announcements without details or written clarification. The EU sees no justification for the imposition of tariffs on its exports,” the statement said.
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Speaking on Monday Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he had “full confidence” in how the commission would respond to the imposition of any tariffs on trade flows to the US. “We believe tariffs are not conducive to economic growth. Ireland believes in a freer trade environment,” the Fianna Fáil leader said. The commission was prepared for a scenario where Mr Trump put tariffs on imports from the EU, he said.
A discussion about the proposed steel and aluminium tariffs will likely be at the top of the agenda when European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen meets US vice-president JD Vance on Tuesday. The pair are due to sit down together at the margins of an AI summit in Paris.
Mr Trump has repeatedly spoken about his plans to put tariffs on goods sold into the US from Europe in an attempt to address what he feels is an unbalanced trading relationship.
During his first term Mr Trump levied similar tariffs on steel and aluminium coming from the EU. In response the commission hit back with tariffs on whiskey, Harley-Davidson motorbikes and motor boats. A deal struck during the Joe Biden presidency saw both sides suspend the tariffs.
Mr Trump recently announced sweeping tariffs on goods coming from Canada and Mexico, before temporarily suspending the measures shortly afterwards.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said the EU would be ready to respond “within an hour” if the US introduced tariffs.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot told TF1 television that the time had come for the commission to pull the trigger on its planned response to Mr Trump’s threats. “This is already what Donald Trump did in 2018, and we responded. We will again respond.” he said.
EU officials have been drawing up options for how to respond to tariffs for several months now. That will likely include an attempt to cut a deal with Mr Trump in the first instance, followed by the threat of putting retaliatory tariffs on US goods. Additional reporting – Reuters
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