US President Donald Trump has stepped up his war of words over trade tariffs, threatening to “apply a tax” on imports of cars from the European Union.
What has Mr Trump said now?
In a tweet on Saturday, the president said: “If the EU wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on US companies doing business there, we will simply apply a Tax on their Cars which freely pour into the US. “They make it impossible for our cars (and more) to sell there. Big trade imbalance!” A second tweet decried the “$800 Billion Dollar Yearly Trade Deficit because of our ‘very stupid’ trade deals and policies”. Mr Trump added: “Our jobs and wealth are being given to other countries that have taken advantage of us for years. They laugh at what fools our leaders have been. No more!.”Does his stance have support among fellow Republicans?
A number have questioned the wisdom of the tariff proposal and have been urging the president to reconsider.
Why is Mr Trump imposing tariffs?
It chimes with his “America First” policy and the narrative that the US is getting a raw deal in its trade relations with other countries. Mr Trump tweeted on Friday that the US was “losing billions of dollars” and would find a trade war “easy to win”. The president is using a clause in international trade rules which allows for tariffs for national security reasons. But his move has not come totally out of the blue. The commerce department recommended tariffs in February after conducting a review under rarely invoked national security regulations contained in a 1962 trade law. Mr Trump had already announced tariffs on solar panels and washing machines in January.What has the international response been?
The IMF said others could follow the US leader’s precedent by claiming tough trade restrictions were needed to defend national security.