EU, Canada Condemn Trump Plan To Hike Tariffs

US President Donald Trump’s proposal to introduce swingeing tariffs on steel and aluminium imports have been condemned by the European Union and Canada, and have raised fears of a possible trade war.

The EU "will react firmly and commensurately to defend our interests" against steep US trade tariffs on steel and aluminium, the European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday.

"The Commission will bring forward in the next few days a proposal for WTO-compatible countermeasures against the US to rebalance the situation," he said in a statement, referring to the World Trade Organization.

President Trump earlier announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel products and 10 percent on aluminium designed to protect US producers, teeing up a possible trade war with China and Europe.

"We're going to be instituting tariffs next week," Trump said, adding they will be in place "for a long period of time".

According to Juncker, the US initiative appears to be "a blatant intervention to protect US domestic industry and not to be based on any national security justification".

"Instead of providing a solution, this move can only aggravate matters," Juncker said. "We will not sit idly while our industry is hit with unfair measures that put thousands of European jobs at risk."

EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said the EU will seek dispute settlement consultations with the US in Geneva at the earliest opportunity.

The measures "will have a negative impact on transatlantic relations and on global markets" and will "raise costs and reduce choice for US consumers of steel and aluminium, including industries that import these commodities," she added.

Separately, Canada's Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne described the US tariff proposal as "unacceptable."

"Any tariffs or quotas that would be imposed on our Canadian steel and aluminium industry would be unacceptable. Any such decision would have an impact on both sides of the border," Champagne told parliament.

Canada is the largest supplier of both steel and aluminium to the United States.

There's been no response as yet from China. (AFP)

Last updated: 2018-03-02 HKT 05:12