The Trump administration announced that the U.S will impose tariffs on steel, aluminum imports from Europe, Canada and Mexico.
U.S. and European officials held last-ditch talks in Paris on Thursday to try to reach a deal, though hopes are low and fears of a trade war are mounting.
“Global trade is not a gunfight at the OK Corral,” France’s finance minister quipped after meeting U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “It’s not about who attacks whom, and then wait and see who is still standing at the end.”
The tariffs are likely to go into effect on the EU with an announcement before Friday’s deadline, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Mr. Trump announced in March that the United States would slap a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum, citing national security interests. But he granted an exemption to the EU and other U.S. allies; that reprieve expires Friday.
The EU has previously threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. orange juice, peanut butter and other goods in return for the U.S. moving forward with its tariff plans. Fears of a global trade war are already weighing on investor confidence and could hinder the global economic upturn. European officials argue that tit-for-tat tariffs will hurt growth on both sides of the Atlantic.
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