Canada and EU swiftly retaliate against Trump's steel and aluminium tariffs

U.S. President Trump raised tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, prompting swift retaliatory measures from major trading partners who imposed new high tariffs on American goods including textiles, water heaters, beef, and bourbon whiskey. This series of actions marked a further escalation of global trade tensions.

Canada, as the largest supplier of steel to the United States, announced it would impose equivalent 25% tariffs on steel products and increase taxes on a range of goods including tools, computers and servers, monitors, sports equipment, and cast iron products. The EU would also raise tariffs on American goods such as beef, poultry, bourbon whiskey, motorcycles, peanut butter, and jeans. These countermeasures aim to put pressure on the United States while minimizing additional damage to Europe.

EU officials made it clear that these tariffs targeted products manufactured in Republican-controlled states, such as beef and poultry from Kansas and Nebraska, and timber products from Alabama and Georgia. In addition, Democratic-controlled states such as Illinois, the largest soybean producer in the United States, would also be affected, as soybeans are also on the tariff list. The EU's move is designed for precise targeting, while minimizing the impact on its own economy.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that these new tariffs would cost companies billions of dollars and further exacerbate uncertainty in the world's major trading partnerships. "We deeply regret this. Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business and even worse for consumers." She emphasized that prices would rise and jobs in both Europe and the United States would be at risk. The Trump administration's trade protectionist policies have sparked widespread international concern.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce representative to the EU stated that U.S. tariffs and EU countermeasures "will only harm jobs, prosperity and security on both sides of the Atlantic." The Chamber called on both sides to de-escalate the situation and reach a negotiated outcome as soon as possible. Von der Leyen also stated that the EU "remains open to negotiations at all times" and firmly believes that "in a world full of geopolitical and economic uncertainties, burdening our economies with tariffs is not in our common interest."