• The Trump administration started imposing tariffs on European, Canadian, and Mexican steel and aluminum on Friday morning.
• Canada called it an “affront”, the UK said it was “patently absurd”, and the French compared it to a cowboy shoot-out.

US allies have been responding furiously to the Trump administration’s decision to impose steep tariffs on their steel and aluminum exports as part of an escalating trade war.

Starting Friday, steel imports from those countries will be hit with a 25% tariff, while aluminum imports will be hit with a 10% tariff. Tariffs are essentially taxes on foreign goods coming into a country – (you can read more about how that works here).

The Trump administration’s move is meant to be a show of support to the US steel and aluminum industries from foreign producers that undercut domestic prices. The White House previously said that protecting those industries was a matter of national security, although many experts have questioned that justification.

Here’s how European nations, Canada, and Mexico, have reacted to Trump’s latest move.

UK Trade Secretary Liam Fox on Friday slammed the tariffs as a “patently absurd” move, and that UK government is considering counter-measures.

Barry Gardiner, a trade spokesman for the opposition Labour party, said: “We will not be cowed, we will not be bullied by the President. The President has said he believes he could win a trade war. We think a trade war is in nobody’s interests. It’s not in our interests, it’s not in the EU’s interests, and it’s not in the interest of American workers.”

The EU handles trade policy for its 28 member states, many of which also responded separately, including Brit ian, Germany, and France.

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has threatened to hit back at the US with EU tariffs on equal value, telling reporters on Thursday: “It’s totally unacceptable that a country is imposing unilateral measures when it comes to world trade.”

The EU previously released a list of US products that would be subject to tariffs in the event the metal restrictions went into effect. It included blue jeans, motorcycles, boats, bourbon whiskey, rice, playing cards, and steel.

France: This is like the OK Corral

Bruno Le Maire, France’s finance minister, echoed Juncker’s warnings by saying: “Our US friends must know that if they were to take aggressive actions against Europe, Europe would not be without reaction.”

Le Maire added: “World trade is not like the settling of accounts at the OK Corral,” referring to a 30-second shootout between a law-and-order gang and a group of cowboys in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the move as “totally unacceptable” and an “affront to the thousands of Canadians who have fought and died alongside their American brothers in arms.”

He also described the tariff impositions as “illegal and counterproductive” under NAFTA and WTO rules, and that Trump’s national security justification was “simply ridiculous.”

Trudeau added that Canada would impose “dollar for dollar tariffs” on US products, including steel and aluminum from July 1, which would remain in place until the US lifted its own tariffs. Other US consumer products that could be hit include maple syrup, pizza, and toilet paper.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters that Canada’s retaliatory tariffs were “strongest action by Canada in the post-War era.”

Mexico: Let’s keep it in proportion.

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo described the new landscape as a “clearly defined battlefield,” but not a trade war. He also vowed that the country would take revenge proportionally.

He told Mexican radio on Thursday, as cited by Reuters: “A trade war is when there is an escalation of conflict. In this case, it is simply a response to a first action.

“We should stick to the clearly defined battlefield, where the response is appropriate and proportional.”

In a separate statement on Thursday, the Mexican government also called Trump’s new tariffs “measures that affect and distort international commerce in goods,” and that they were “neither adequate nor justified,” according to The Hill.

It said it would “impose equivalent measures” on US goods including foil, lamps, pork legs and shoulders, apples, and cheese.

Germany: No insults, but trying to fix it.

The country’s economic minister, Peter Altmaier, said his country would stand with the EU and even work “more closely” with Mexico and Canada, who were also hit by the trade war.

Altmaier told German TV on Friday, according to Reuters: “We tried to do it through negotiation and we will now do it by standing together and formulating a common European answer, possibly working more closely with Mexico and Canada.”

What the US says

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who announced the tariffs, said on Thursday that there was “nothing weird” about the countries’ reactions, and that they “will get over that in due course.” </s> US President Donald Trump promised to impose tariffs, claiming trade across the Atlantic was a one-way street. The EU had demanded a permanent exemption from the tariffs following a temporary one being granted in April, but the plea has been rejected by US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had earlier met with Mr Ross in a last ditch attempt to prevent the tariffs being imposed, but they failed to come to an agreement. Among the concessions the Trump administration is seeking is an agreement on a quota that would limit European steel and aluminium exports to the US while also wanting the 10 percent auto tariff to be lowered, for which it would be ready to grant an exemption to the EU from the steel tariff. But EU leaders have immediately vowed to retaliate against the US, with the bloc ready to launch a case at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) where it will trigger a "dispute settlement" as it believes the US are breaking agreed international trade rules. Trade Commissioner Cecilia Maelstrom said: "The US has sought to use the threat of trade restrictions as leverage to obtain concessions from the EU.

“This is not the way we do business, and certainly not between longstanding partners, friends and allies. "Now that we have clarity, the EU's response will be proportionate and in accordance with WTO rules. "We will now trigger a dispute settlement case at the WTO, since these US. measures clearly go against agreed international rules. "We will also impose rebalancing measures and take any necessary steps to protect the EU market from trade diversion caused by these US restrictions." European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker echoed his counterpart's vow and promised the EU will impose immediate counter balancing measures against the US.

Speaking in Brussels, he said: "This is a bad day for world trade, so we will immediately introduce a settlement dispute with the WTO and will announce counter balancing measures in the coming hours. "It is totally unacceptable that a country is imposing unilateral measures when it comes to world trade." Manfred Weber, the European Parliament centre-right leader and ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, wrote on Twitter that the EU would also be reacting strongly. He said: "We will have no choice but to defend European industry, jobs and interests. "We will not accept this highly regrettable decision without reacting.”

Britain said it was “deeply disappointed” by the decision from the US and claimed it should be permanently exempted from the tariff measures. A Government spokesman said: "We are deeply disappointed that the US has decided to apply tariffs to steel and aluminium imports from the EU on national security grounds. "The UK and other European Union countries are close allies of the US and should be permanently and fully exempted from the American measures on steel and aluminium." The CBI's international director Ben Digby called President Trump's measures "deeply concerning for firms in the UK, for close trading partners and across supply chains". He said: "There are no winners in a trade war, which will damage prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic.

"These tariffs could lead to a protectionist domino effect, damaging firms, employees and consumers in the US, UK and many other trading partners." Labour spokeswoman on steel Gill furniss described the tariff announcement as "a catastrophic blow to the sector and steelworkers across the country", also hitting out at the way the situation has been handled by Prime Minister Theresa May and her Government. The Sheffield Brightside MP said: "Theresa May and her Government have approached the ongoing crisis with utter complacency and have proved too feeble to stand up to Trump when it was most needed. They have let our steelworkers down." UK Steel Director Gareth Stace claimed the new tariffs will cause "damage not only to the UK steel sector, but also the US economy".

He added: "President Trump had already loaded the gun today and we know that the US administration has unfortunately fired it and potentially started a damaging trade war. "With some half billion dollars of steel exported from the UK to US last year, UK steel producers are going to be hit hard." But in an interview with television network CNBC, the US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was unfazed by any threats of retaliation from the EU. Speaking from Paris after announcing the US was proceeding with metals tariffs on the EU, he said any retaliation from European nations or any other countries are unlikely to have much impact on the US economy. He added there won’t be a long-term impact on relations with affected countries and that they “will get over this in due course”. </s> In a hastily called Rose Garden appearance with President Donald Trump, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the U.S. and the EU agreed to hold off on new tariffs.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and European leaders pulled back from the brink of a trade war over autos Wednesday and agreed to open talks to resolve a dispute over steel and to tear down trade barriers between the United States and the European Union.

In a hastily called Rose Garden appearance with Trump, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the U.S. and the EU agreed to hold off on new tariffs, suggesting that the United States will suspend plans to start taxing European auto imports — a move that would have marked a major escalation in trade tensions between the allies.

The tone between Trump and Juncker was friendly, a marked turnabout from the harsh rhetoric the EU and U.S. have exchanged in recent weeks.

Trump also said the EU had agreed to buy "a lot of soybeans" and increase its imports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S.

"It's encouraging that they're talking about freer trade rather than trade barriers and an escalating tariff war," said Rufus Yerxa, president of the National Foreign Trade Council and a former U.S. trade official. But he said reaching a detailed trade agreement with the EU would probably prove very difficult.

During a recent European trip, Trump referred to the EU as a "foe, what they do to us in trade." Juncker, after Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, said in March that "this is basically a stupid process, the fact that we have to do this. But we have to do it. We can also do stupid."

On Wednesday, the tone was conciliatory. Trump and Juncker said they have agreed to work toward "zero tariffs" and "zero subsidies" on non-automotive goods.

Trump told reporters it was a "very big day for free and fair trade" and vowed to "resolve the steel and aluminum tariff issues and we will resolve retaliatory tariffs. We have some tariffs that are retaliatory and that will get resolved as part of what we're doing."

"We're starting the negotiation right now, but we know very much where it's going," Trump said after talks with European counterparts.

Juncker said he had an "intention to make a deal today and we made a deal today. We have identified a number of areas on which to work together, work towards zero tariffs on industrial goods. That was my main intention, for those to come down to zero tariffs on industrial goods."

As U.S. soybean farmers have struggled against retaliatory tariffs, Juncker said the EU "can import more soybeans from the U.S. and it will be done." He said the two sides also agreed to work together to reform the World Trade Organization, which Trump has vehemently criticized as being unfair to the U.S.

Earlier in the Oval Office, Juncker told Trump that the two trading partners were "allies, not enemies," and said they needed to work together to address recent frictions involving Trump's threats to impose tariffs on auto imports and EU plans to retaliate.

Trump had placed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, saying they pose a threat to U.S. national security, an argument that the EU and Canada reject. He had also threatened to slap tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, potentially targeting imports that last year totaled $335 billion.

The European Union had warned that it would retaliate with tariffs on products worth $20 billion if Trump puts duties on cars and auto parts from Europe.

Trump's progress with EU leaders was greeted by farm-state lawmakers who have been concerned about the impact of retaliatory tariffs on soybeans and other crops.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said what farmers in his home state need "and this might be helpful in this direction— is they got to know that this thing isn't going to go on forever."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tweeted that the agreement "not to impose additional tariffs during negotiations is very smart and the best way to achieve a win-win solution."

He added: "Now is the time for EU and US - both victims to unfair China trade practices - to unite against China." </s> Theresa May has hit back at Donald Trump’s “unjustified” decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium producers, which has pushed the EU to the brink of a trade war with the US.

In her first direct intervention, more than 24 hours after the US announced the tariffs would be imposed on the EU, Canada and Mexico, May said the US should immediately rethink its decision, warning it would have ramifications for US defence projects.

“I am deeply disappointed at the unjustified decision by the US to apply tariffs to EU steel and aluminium imports,” she said. “The US, EU and UK are close allies and have always promoted values of open and fair trade across the world.

“Our steel and aluminium industries are hugely important to the UK, but they also contribute to US industry including in defence projects which bolster US national security.”

May said the EU and UK “should be permanently exempted from tariffs” and Britain would work with the bloc to protect and safeguard workers and industries.

The EU has opened a case at the World Trade Organization after the US imposed a 25% duty on European steel and a 10% duty on European aluminium on Friday.

“We are not in a trade war, but we are in a very difficult situation caused by the United States,” said Cecilia Malmström, the EU trade commissioner. “The US is playing a dangerous game here.”

Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary, said insufficient progress had been made in talks with the EU, Canada and Mexico, since the US had agreed a temporary reprieve from the tariffs for the three close US allies after they were unveiled by Trump two months ago.

The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, issued an immediate tit-for-tat response, announcing tariffs of up to 25% on US imports equivalent to C$16.6bn, the total value of Canadian steel exports last year. The tariffs will cover steel and aluminium as well as orange juice, whiskey and other food products.

The EU is yet to announce its plans for retaliatory measures, although the president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has promised imminent action. Targets are likely to be classic US products such as peanut butter, whiskey and Levi’s jeans, though under WTO rules, EU retaliatory measures cannot come into force until 20 June.

The tariffs are particularly damaging to the UK’s hopes of a trade liberalisation deal with the US after Brexit. Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, said the tariffs were “patently absurd” and that it would be “ a great pity if we ended up in a tit-for-tat trade dispute with our closest allies”.

May is expected to raise the tariffs directly with Trump when the pair meet at the G7 in Canada next week, where the issue is likely to dominate, though Downing Street has not ruled out the possibility of an earlier discussion. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and European leaders pulled back from the brink of a trade war over autos Wednesday and agreed to open talks to tear down trade barriers between the United States and the European Union.

But the agreement was vague, the coming negotiations with Europe are sure to be contentious and the United States remains embroiled in major trade disputes with China and other trading partners.

In a hastily called Rose Garden appearance with Trump, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the U.S. and the EU have agreed to hold off on new tariffs, suggesting that the United States will suspend plans to start taxing European auto imports — a move that would have marked a major escalation in trade tensions between the allies.

Trump also said the EU had agreed to buy “a lot of soybeans” and increase its imports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. And the two agreed to resolve a dispute over U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.

“It’s encouraging that they’re talking about freer trade rather than trade barriers and an escalating tariff war,” said Rufus Yerxa, president of the National Foreign Trade Council and a former U.S. trade official. But he said reaching a detailed trade agreement with the EU would likely prove difficult.

President Donald Trump says the US and the EU have agreed to work toward “zero tariffs” and “zero subsidies” on non-automobile goods. EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says he has made a deal with Trump to try to ease trade tensions. (July 25)

The tone was friendlier than it has been. During a recent European trip, Trump referred to the EU as a “foe, what they do to us in trade.” Juncker, after Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, said in March that “this is basically a stupid process, the fact that we have to do this. But we have to do it. We can also do stupid.”

On Wednesday, Trump and Juncker said they have agreed to work toward “zero tariffs” and “zero subsidies” on non-automotive goods.

Trump told reporters it was a “very big day for free and fair trade” and later tweeted a photo of himself and Juncker in an embrace, with Juncker kissing his cheek.

“Obviously the European Union, as represented by @JunckerEU and the United States, as represented by yours truly, love each other!” he wrote.

The president campaigned on a vow to get tough on trading partners he accuses of taking advantage of bad trade deals to run up huge trade surpluses with the U.S.

He has slapped taxes on imported steel and aluminum, saying they pose a threat to U.S. national security. The U.S. and EU are now working to resolve their differences over steel and aluminum — but the tariffs are still in place. And they would continue to hit U.S. trading partners like Canada, Mexico and Japan even if the U.S. and the EU cut a deal.

Whatever progress was achieved Wednesday could provide some relief for U.S. automakers. The escalating trade war and tariffs on steel and aluminum had put pressure on auto company earnings. General Motors had slashed its outlook, and shares of Ford Motor Co. and auto parts companies had fallen.

“Our biggest exposure, our biggest unmitigated exposure, is really steel and aluminum when you look at all of the commodities,” GM CEO Mary Barra said Wednesday.

Trump has also imposed tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports — a figure he has threatened to raise to $500 billion — in a dispute over Beijing’s aggressive drive to supplant U.S. technological dominance.

China has counterpunched with tariffs on American products, including soybeans and pork — a shot at Trump supporters in the U.S. heartland.

The EU is stepping in to ease some of U.S. farmers’ pain. Juncker said the EU “can import more soybeans from the U.S., and it will be done.”

Mary Lovely, a Syracuse University economist who studies trade, said, “The Chinese are not going to be buying our soybeans, so almost by musical chairs our soybeans are going to Europe.” The trouble is, China last year imported $12.3 billion in U.S. soybeans, the EU just $1.6 billion.

Trump’s announcement stunned lawmakers who arrived at the White House ready to unload concerns over the administration’s trade policies only to be quickly ushered into Rose Garden for what the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee called “quite a startling” development.

“I think everybody sort of changed what they were going to say,” said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.

Lawmakers said they still needed to see details of the agreement with the EU as well as progress on the other deals. But they said the breakthrough announcement was a step in the right direction.

“We have more confidence in him now than we did before,” said Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.

The White House announcement came as the Trump administration announced a final rule aimed at speeding up approval of applications for small-scale exports of liquefied natural gas. The Trump administration has made LNG exports a priority, arguing that they help the economy and enhance geopolitical stability in countries that purchase U.S. gas.

Juncker said the two sides also agreed to work together to reform the World Trade Organization, which Trump has vehemently criticized as being unfair to the U.S.

The biggest news from the Trump-Juncker meeting is that it appears to have delayed an impending trade war over autos. Trump had threatened to tax imported cars, trucks and auto parts, potentially targeting imports that last year totaled $335 billion.

The European Union had warned that it would retaliate with tariffs on products worth $20 billion if Trump put duties on cars and auto parts from Europe.

But the auto trade war with Europe is on hold while the U.S. and EU engage in further trade talks. Daniel Ikenson, director of trade studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, warned that the fight could flare up again if Trump grows impatient with Europe.

“Auto tariffs are looming unless the EU buys more U.S. stuff and does other things Trump demands,” he said.

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, Christopher Rugaber, Darlene Superville, Matthew Daly and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this story.

On Twitter, follow Ken Thomas at https://twitter.com/KThomasDC and Paul Wiseman at https://twitter.com/PaulWisemanAP </s> PARIS (Reuters) - The United States and European Union could still negotiate a trade deal even if Washington imposes import tariffs on EU steel and aluminum, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Wednesday.

EU leaders agreed earlier in May to open discussions about market access for U.S. products, but only if Washington grants the EU a permanent exemption from tariffs. The EU now has a temporary exemption, which expires on Friday.

“There can be negotiations with or without tariffs in place. There are plenty of tariffs the EU has on us. It’s not that we can’t talk just because there’s tariffs,” Ross told a panel at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The U.S. envoy said that China was a good case in point, having agreed to negotiate with the United States despite U.S. tariffs on certain Chinese exports going into effect in March.

“China has not used that as an excuse not to negotiate,” he said. “It’s only the EU that is insisting we can’t negotiate if there are tariffs.”

He did not say whether the United States goes ahead and slaps tariffs on EU metals. European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Tuesday she expected some sort of U.S. measure to limit EU exports.

A French presidential adviser said “nothing very positive” had come out of recent efforts to stop the U.S. tariffs, adding: “If that’s the American decision, the European response will be firm,” mentioning counter-measures on selected U.S. products.

Ross, who was due to talk to Malmstrom later on Wednesday, said the EU had shown limited interest in serious trade negotiations with the United States until a threat of tariffs.

The 28-member bloc shelved talks towards an ambitious EU-U.S. trade deal known as TTIP after Donald Trump’s presidential election victory in 2016.

Dutch Trade Minister Sigrid Kaag, on the same panel, said EU countries agreed that U.S. trade measures designed to protect national security simply should not apply to them and they did not feel they should negotiate, even if China did.

Kaag added that a 1962 trade law allowing protection for U.S. producers on national security grounds that Donald Trump has invoked belongs to a different era.

Ross also denied claims that U.S. tariffs would harm its own steel-consuming industries. The price of a can of soup would rise just a fraction of a cent and car prices would go up by less than 1 percent, he said.

“The sky has not fallen on the United States since we put the tariffs on. It hasn’t fallen and it won’t,” he said, adding that about 20 steel or aluminum facilities had opened or reopened since the tariffs were first announced.

Ross also took aim at the World Trade Organization, where Washington has blocked appointments to its appeals chamber, effectively engineering a crisis in the system of settling global disputes.

Any dispute mechanism that takes multiple years to settle cases is “no good”, he said, labeling a 14-year case over subsidies for aircraft Airbus “a joke”.

Talk of just tweaking the WTO, as EU countries have suggested, is wrong, he said.

“The problem is that people have begun in many multilateral organizations to substitute conversation for action. We don’t think just raising issues is adequate,” Ross said. </s> Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 3:22 am |

President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports after failing to win concessions from the European Union, a move that could provoke retaliatory tariffs and inflame trans-Atlantic trade tensions.

The tariffs are likely to go into effect on the EU with an announcement by Friday’s deadline, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The administration’s plans could change if the two sides are able to reach a last-minute agreement, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Trump announced in March the United States would slap a 25 percent tariff on imported steel, and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum, citing national security interests. But he granted an exemption to the EU and other U.S. allies; that reprieve expires Friday.

Europe has been bracing for the U.S. to place the restrictions even as top European officials have held last-ditch talks in Paris with American trade officials to try to avert the tariffs.

“Realistically, I do not think we can hope” to avoid either U.S. tariffs or quotas on steel and aluminum, said Cecilia Malmstrom, the European Union’s trade commissioner. Even if the U.S. were to agree to waive the tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, Malmstrom said, “I expect them nonetheless to want to impose some sort of cap on EU exports.”

European officials said they expected the U.S. to announce its final decision Thursday. The people familiar with the talks said Trump could make an announcement as early as Thursday.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross attended meetings at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris on Wednesday, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer joins discussions in Paris on Thursday.

The U.S. plan has raised the threat of retaliation from Europe and fears of a global trade war — a prospect that is already weighing on investor confidence and could hinder the global economic upturn.

If the U.S. moves forward with its tariffs, the EU has threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. orange juice, peanut butter and other goods in return. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire pledged that the European response would be “united and firm.”

Besides the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, the Trump administration is also investigating possible limits on foreign cars in the name of national security.

“Unilateral responses and threats over trade war will solve nothing of the serious imbalances in the world trade. Nothing,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an impassioned speech at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

In a clear reference to Trump, Macron added, “These solutions might bring symbolic satisfaction in the short term. … One can think about making voters happy by saying, ‘I have a victory, I’ll change the rules, you’ll see.'”

But, Macron said, those “who waged bilateral trade wars … saw an increase in prices and an increase in unemployment.”

Tariffs on steel imports to the U.S. can help local producers of the metal by making foreign products more expensive. But they can also increase costs more broadly for U.S. manufacturers who cannot source all their steel locally and need to import the raw material. That hurts the companies and can lead to more expensive consumer prices, economists say.

Ross criticized the EU for its tough negotiating position.

“There can be negotiations with or without tariffs in place. There are plenty of tariffs the EU has on us. It’s not that we can’t talk just because there’s tariffs,” he said. He noted that “China has not used that as an excuse not to negotiate.”

But German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier insisted the Europeans were being “constructive” and were ready to negotiate special trade arrangements, notably for liquefied natural gas and industrial goods, including cars.

Macron also proposed to start negotiations between the U.S., the EU, China and Japan to reshape the World Trade Organization to better regulate trade. Discussions could then be expanded to include other countries to agree on changes by the end of the year.

Ross expressed concern that the Geneva-based World Trade Organization and other organizations are too rigid and slow to adapt to changes in global business.

“We would operate within [multilateral] frameworks if we were convinced that people would move quickly,” he said.

Ross and Lighthizer seemed like the odd men out at this week’s gathering at the OECD, an international economic agency that includes the U.S. as a prominent member.

The agency issued a report Wednesday saying “the threat of trade restrictions has begun to adversely affect confidence” and tariffs “would negatively influence investment and jobs.” </s> PARIS (Reuters) - The United States and European Union could still negotiate a trade deal even if Washington imposes import tariffs on EU steel and aluminium, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Wednesday.

EU leaders agreed earlier in May to open discussions about market access for U.S. products, but only if Washington grants the EU a permanent exemption from tariffs. The EU now has a temporary exemption, which expires on Friday.

"There can be negotiations with or without tariffs in place. There are plenty of tariffs the EU has on us. It's not that we can't talk just because there's tariffs," Ross told a panel at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The U.S. envoy said that China was a good case in point, having agreed to negotiate with the United States despite U.S. tariffs on certain Chinese exports going into effect in March.

"China has not used that as an excuse not to negotiate," he said. "It's only the EU that is insisting we can't negotiate if there are tariffs."

He did not say whether the United States goes ahead and slaps tariffs on EU metals. European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Tuesday she expected some sort of U.S. measure to limit EU exports.

A French presidential adviser said "nothing very positive" had come out of recent efforts to stop the U.S. tariffs, adding: "If that's the American decision, the European response will be firm," mentioning counter-measures on selected U.S. products.

Ross, who was due to talk to Malmstrom later on Wednesday, said the EU had shown limited interest in serious trade negotiations with the United States until a threat of tariffs.

The 28-member bloc shelved talks towards an ambitious EU-U.S. trade deal known as TTIP after Donald Trump's presidential election victory in 2016.

Dutch Trade Minister Sigrid Kaag, on the same panel, said EU countries agreed that U.S. trade measures designed to protect national security simply should not apply to them and they did not feel they should negotiate, even if China did.

Kaag added that a 1962 trade law allowing protection for U.S. producers on national security grounds that Donald Trump has invoked belongs to a different era.

Ross also denied claims that U.S. tariffs would harm its own steel-consuming industries. The price of a can of soup would rise just a fraction of a cent and car prices would go up by less than 1 percent, he said.

"The sky has not fallen on the United States since we put the tariffs on. It hasn't fallen and it won't," he said, adding that about 20 steel or aluminium facilities had opened or reopened since the tariffs were first announced.

Ross also took aim at the World Trade Organization, where Washington has blocked appointments to its appeals chamber, effectively engineering a crisis in the system of settling global disputes.

Any dispute mechanism that takes multiple years to settle cases is "no good", he said, labelling a 14-year case over subsidies for aircraft Airbus "a joke".

Talk of just tweaking the WTO, as EU countries have suggested, is wrong, he said.

"The problem is that people have begun in many multilateral organisations to substitute conversation for action. We don't think just raising issues is adequate," Ross said.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> (CBS) — President Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker have agreed to work towards “zero” tariffs,” Mr. Trump announced in a joint statement with Juncker in the White House Rose Garden Wednesday. Juncker said the two have agreed to hold off on further tariffs as they negotiate the details.

“We agreed today, first of all, to work together toward zero tariffs, zero, non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods,” Mr. Trump told reporters.

The news comes after Mr. Trump threatened tariffs on auto imports, and Reuters reported the European Commission is preparing retaliatory tariffs. Mr. Trump has long threatened to continue raising tariffs, claiming the EU treats the U.S. and particularly farmers unfairly.

“When I was invited by the president to the White House, I had one intention: I had the intention to make a deal today. And we made a deal today,” Juncker said.

Mr. Trump noted a few specifics on the agreement he says the U.S. and EU teams reached Wednesday. Later in the afternoon, the EU issued their joint statement.
• Mr. Trump said the two will “work to reduce barriers and increase trade in services, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical products, as well as soy beans, soy beans is a big deal. And the European Union is going to start, almost immediately, to buy a lot of soy beans, they’re a tremendous market, buy a lot of soy beans from our farmers in the Midwest, primarily.”
• “Secondly, we agreed to a strengthened and strengthening of our strategic cooperation with respect to energy,” Mr. Trump said. “The European Union wants to import more liquified natural gas, LNG, from the United States, and they’re going to be a very, very big buyer. We’re going to make it much easier for them but they’re going to be a massive buyer of LNG so they’ll be able to diversify their energy supply.”
• “Thirdly we agreed today to launch a close dialogue on standards in order to ease trade, reduce bureaucratic obstacles, and slash costs dramatically,” the president said.

Mr. Trump also said the U.S. will “resolve the steel and aluminum tariff issues and we will resolve retaliatory tariffs.”

The U.S. and EU, Mr. Trump said, are establishing an executive working group to hash out details on trade and assess existing tariffs “to the betterment of both.”

“We’re starting the negotiation right now but we know very much where it’s going,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump said the EU and U.S. are launching a “new phase in the relationship” between the two nations, one of close “friendship.” Less than two weeks ago, Mr. Trump told CBS News’ Jeff Glor he considers the EU a “foe” because of how the collection of nations has treated the U.S. on trade.

Moments before the joint statement was to start, the White House issued a press release blasting other nations, including the EU, over tariffs related to agriculture.

The president has continued to rant over trade on Twitter, as even members of his own party declare tariffs ineffective at best, and harmful at worst.

“Every time I see a weak politician asking to stop Trade talks or the use of Tariffs to counter unfair Tariffs, I wonder, what can they be thinking? Are we just going to continue and let our farmers and country get ripped off? Lost $817 Billion on Trade last year. No weakness!” the president tweeted Wednesday morning.
President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker vows "counterbalancing measures" from the EU soon. The EU is expected to respond with tariffs on a little more than US$3 billion worth of American goods including motorcycles, bourbon, and blue jeans. Juncker also says that the EU will proceed with a case against the US in the World Trade Organization. US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross replies that the EU measures are "unlikely" to have much impact on the US economy.