Trump-EU trade war BEGINS: Juncker promises retaliation to US trade tariffs WITHIN HOURS

Thursday, May 31, 2018
By Paul Martin

JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER received the shock news of Donald Trump’s decision to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on European Union exports during a speech about the future of Europe and reacted by promising a trade war.

By JOE BARNES, BRUSSELS CORRESPONDENT
Express.co.uk
Thu, May 31, 2018

One of the European Commission’s team passed him a note as he praised self-acclaimed good work as the EU’s most senior official.

Interrupting his speech, Mr Juncker told the audience the note “proves just how serious my job is” and brushed off the news as “expected”.

He remained calm but this comes as a huge blow to Brussels, who have already had diplomats warning European firms to “prepare for the worst” as negotiators struggled to reach an agreement with their American counterparts.

The Commission President has vowed to hit back at Mr Trump’s trade tariff as he signalled the start of a trade war between Brussels and Washington with retaliatory tariffs within hours.

He said: “This is a bad day for world trade.

“What they can do, we’re able to do exactly the same.”

In a seperate statement, Mr Juncker said: “I am concerned by this decision. The EU believes these unilateral US tariffs are unjustified and at odds with World Trade Organisation rules.

“This is protectionism, pure and simple. Over the past months we have continuously engaged with the US at all possible levels to jointly address the problem of overcapacity in the steel sector. Overcapacity remains at the heart of the problem and the EU is not the source of but on the contrary equally hurt by it.

“That is why we are determined to work towards structural solutions together with our partners. We have also consistently indicated our openness to discussing ways to improve bilateral trade relations with the US but have made it clear that the EU will not negotiate under threat.”

The Rest…HERE

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