US Slaps Metal Tariffs On EU, Canada And Mexico

The Trump administration has announced it will impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico after failing to win concessions from them.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said 25 percent levies would be raised on steel and 10 percent on aluminium as the administration followed through on the penalties after earlier granting exemptions to buy time for negotiations.

Ross said talks with Canada and Mexico over revising the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) were "taking longer than we had hoped". Talks with Europe had "made some progress" but not enough for additional exemptions, he said in a conference call from Paris.

"We continue to be quite willing and indeed eager to have further discussions," Ross said. He said he planned to travel to China on Friday for trade talks between the world's two biggest economies.

European officials had braced for the tariffs and the EU has threatened to retaliate against US orange juice, peanut butter and other goods in return. In terms of the Nafta talks, the tariffs could hinder the negotiations among the North American neighbours.

Fears of a global trade war are already weighing on investor confidence and could hinder the global economic upturn. European officials argue that tit-for-tat tariffs will hurt growth on both sides of the Atlantic. (AP)