United States steel, aluminum import tariffs likely to hurt economies, warns International Monetary Fund

“The economy is worldwide now instead of just the U.S. China is going to attach something else if they bring in and it’s just going to go round and round with them”, Keith said.

Australia’s Trade Minister Steven Ciobo leaves after the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks during APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam, November 9, 2017.

The US President says putting a 25 percent tariff on steel from other countries will help protect American jobs.

Since Canada is still trying to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States, it is not clear if these tariffs will apply to Canada, but that is not stopping the government from reacting.

Meanwhile, the U.S. president breezily asserted that “trade wars are good”.

Ottowa said on Thursday that any trade restrictions on Canadian steel and aluminum would be “absolutely unacceptable” and would invite retaliation.

“Trade wars are good, and easy to win”, Trump asserted.

She said it is to be expected that most trading partners would call this action a protectionist measure under the guise of national security. That year, Chinese steel accounted for less than 2 percent of overall US imports. “We will continue to work on solutions that create a level playing field and address Chinese overcapacity”.

WASHINGTON-President Donald Trump’s decision to impose us tariffs on imported steel and aluminum should have only a minor negative effect on aerospace manufacturers, albeit possibly more so for smaller suppliers versus large.

“While we appreciate your concern about the viability of the domestic aluminum smelting industry, tariffs or import restrictions will have the unintended effect of harming many healthy downstream USA manufacturing industries, like ours, that are substantially larger in size and economic contribution”, the letter said.

Canada’s steel industry has staged a tentative recovery in recent years, with some new jobs and investment. German producers account for about 4% of U.S. steel imports. But Matthew Mitchell, an associate professor of global business and strategy at Drake University in Des Moines, predicts the effects will extend well beyond the steel industry.

The office of U.S. Sen. “I had the occasion to say that the European Union would react adequately and that’s what we will do”, Juncker added.

A Japanese government official told VOA that Tokyo “has explained several times to the US government our concerns”, but declined to comment further on any ongoing discussions with Washington. But trade hawks like Peter Navarro, who was by the President’s side as he made his remarks, appeared to have won the day.