Transatlantic Relations amidst a Trade War

• In another series of unfortunate tweets, D. Trump stated that ‘trade wars are good and easy to win’. The latter came after global actors, including the EU, condemned the US decision to put tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum and promptly responded in kind, therefore possibly triggering a WTO dispute.
• The US tariffs were justified as necessary to protect domestic steel and aluminum sectors from further declining, sectors which earlier in the year were alleged to be impacting national security. Essentially, the tariffs aim to reduce reliance on imports by reviving these sectors domestically.

Commerce Secretary Ross expressed that the EU is part of the influx in the US and the global overcapacity problem, specifically in steel and aluminum. This and the ‘national security’ justification of the tariffs did not sit well with the European side of the Transatlantic Security Community, and rightly so.

Despite the commitment to dialogue, is it undisputed that further action in the trade domain will have significant influence on the transatlantic relationship. This opinion was shared by EU trade chief Malmström, who said that the measures will negatively impact the transatlantic relations as well as global markets.

You can read the whole blog on EurActiv's website.