Despite massive global and domestic pushback, US President Donald Trump has imposed broad tariffs on steel and aluminum. Last-minute modifications can’t cloak the president’s dangerous protectionist stance.
Just days after announcing his plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum against numerous countries, the president unilaterally followed through and formally decreed the measure.
Trump exempted America’s neighbors Mexico and Canada under the condition that they agree on a deal on NAFTA, and offered negotiations on the planned tariffs to other countries, presumably America’s European and Asian allies, based on some vague discussions about security issues. There is a term for that: blackmail.
Slap in the face for allies
Aside from possibly China and some US adversaries, America’s allies and neighbors might be entirely exempt from Trump’s tariffs – but it all remains as unclear after Trump’s remarks as before. What is clear, however, is that forcing longstanding US allies in Europe and Asia to essentially beg for an exemption is neither appropriate nor magnanimous; rather, it is a slap in the face for Washington’s traditional partners like Germany and South Korea. And it may well start a trade showdown.
It also undercuts any remnants of trust or hope America’s allies may still have harbored in this president. Because – make no mistake – the argument that punishing Washington’s NATO and Asian security partners would somehow advance the country’s national security was nonsensical and only a pretext for Trump to get tough on trade and fulfill his campaign promise.
For more read the full of article at The DW
