US President Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on steel and aluminium imported from the EU, Canada and Mexico has drawn the ire of Danish PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
Rasmussen said the world needed more free trade, not less of it, and he hoped the Americans would come to their senses soon.
“The US and the EU agree that Chinese overcapacity is a problem, but erecting toll barriers for EU trade doesn’t solve anything,” he said.
“The US steel and aluminium imports stem from allies and close co-operation partners, so it doesn’t ring true when the US reasons the tariffs are for national security.”
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Tit for tat
The move has prompted the Danish PM to announce that he hoped the EU would respond with their own tariffs on the US – not to escalate the situation, but to set an example of what the EU sees as a beach in WTO rules.
And indeed, this morning it emerged that the EU will slap tariffs on a number of US goods, including motorcycles, whisky, juice and jeans.
The new tariffs, which include a 25 percent charge on steel and a 10 percent charge on aluminium, will come into effect today.
