Germany and EU hit back at Donald Trump's trade war threat

German and EU politicians are threatening tit-for-tat import tariffs to retaliate against the US president's plan to impose a 25-percent duty on EU steel. The EU is aiming to tax Harley Davidsons and bourbon whisky. 

Germany's political leadership has reacted sharply to President Donald Trump's tweets threatening "a tax" on European cars that "freely pour into the US," and a declaration, made last Thursday before industry executives, that the US would impose a 25-percent tariff on steel imports and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum.
The EU has said it is planning to forge a coalition of countries to agree a unified reaction to Trump's move. According to the European news portal Euractiv, European Commission officials are in contact with other affected countries, including Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Australia and Turkey.
But the EU is reportedly also prepared to react alone, and is preparing to approve a package of measures on Wednesday that will seek, among other things, to settle the dispute with the US and agree upon retaliatory measures.
Read more: Opinion: Trump, tariffs, and reality

Trump feels the US is threatened by German steel

Europe strikes back
Part of this package was leaked to news outlet Bloomberg on Monday night, and showed that the EU has prepared a list of US imports that would be ripe for a 25-percent tariff: Levi's jeans, Harley Davidson motorcycles, orange juice and bourbon whisky, as well as other consumer, agricultural, and steel products.
The tariffs, according to Bloomberg, would be worth €2.8 billion ($3.5 billion), to offset the US measures.
The German government also promptly ramped up its rhetoric in reaction to Trump. "If blanket US import duties on aluminum and steel are imposed, it will lead to ruptures in world trade," German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said in a statement. "Should Trump follow his words with actions, Europe will reply proportionately. It is not credible that European or German steel imports should endanger the national security of the US."
Zypries went on to question Trump's consistency: "Someone who talks as much about fair trade as President Trump does should not reach for such unfair methods." Meanwhile, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker struck an even blunter tone last week, describing Trump's announcement as "stupid." But "we can also do stupid," he said last Friday.
Protectionism 'hurts everyone'
Germany's representatives in the EU joined in the chorus condemning Trump's policy. "Mr. Trump isn't imposing penalty duties, he's isolating," said Bernd Lange, trade policy spokesman for the Social Democrats in the European Parliament and chairman of its trade committee. "We haven't done anything wrong. We stick to the rules of the International Trade Organization, and that's why we have to implement countermeasures."