Trump Doubles Down On Tariffs, EU Retaliates

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was built mostly on his plan to implement tariffs on US products, and ever since he took over the Oval Office, his tariff plans have shaken the world.

After the president announced import taxes on steel and aluminum entering the US, the EU and Canada retaliated with reciprocal tariffs. However, this has only fueled the tariff war, as Trump just pledged to impose more tariffs as a response to the retaliation. 

EU and Canada Retaliates

After President Trump increased tariffs on aluminum and steel imports and imposed new taxes on U.S products like textiles, water heaters, beef, and bourbon, Canada was quick to respond and announced on Wednesday that it would place 25% reciprocal tariffs on steel products.

The U.S. ally also plans on increasing taxes on items such as tools, computers and servers, display monitors, sports equipment, and cast-iron products. The reciprocal tariffs from Canada can be a huge blow to the U.S., as Canada is the largest supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S.

The European Union also quickly responded to Trump’s tariffs by increasing tariffs on American beef, poultry, bourbon, motorcycles, peanut butter, and jeans. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen talked about how the tariff war will allow prices to go up and jobs to be at stake in both Europe and the United States. Von der Leyen said, “We deeply regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers.”

While the EU and Canada were quick to retaliate, other countries like the UK, Australia, Mexico, and Brazil, who are key US suppliers of metals, have held off on any immediate retaliation. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said, 

Like everybody else, I'm disappointed to see global tariffs in relation to steel and aluminum, but we will take a pragmatic approach. We are negotiating a deal which covers and includes tariffs if we succeed. But we will keep all options on the table.

Next Step

Both Canada and the EU have openly expressed their opinions regarding taking tariffs off the table. EU president Von der Leyen said in a statement that the EU “will always remain open to negotiation.”

Canada’s incoming Prime Minister Mark Carney, who will be sworn in Friday, also said this Wednesday that he’s ready to meet with Trump if he shows “respect for Canadian sovereignty″ and is willing to take ”a common approach, a much more comprehensive approach for trade.″

He further spoke about the interest of workers in both countries and that they will be better off when “the greatest economic and security partnership in the world is renewed, relaunched. That is possible.” “We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geopolitical and economic uncertainties, it is not in our common interest to burden our economies with tariffs,” he said.

What seems to be the next step for the EU is that on April 1, they will be reimposing the tariffs that they had put in place during Trump’s first term from 2018 to 2020 as a retaliation to his increased tariff plans that had taken off during the Biden administration. Then, on April 13, the additional duties targeting 18 billion euros ($19.6 billion) in U.S. exports to the bloc will be put in place.

Trump currently plans to increase tariffs further in response to reciprocal tariffs. He has warned to reveal "reciprocal" tariffs next month on countries around the world and has said, "Whatever they charge us with, we're charging them." 

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