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22:07, 12-Mar-2018
EU slams trade 'bullies' as Trump row deepens
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The EU said Europe would not waver against trade "bullies" as a row with US President Donald Trump over controversial steel and aluminum tariffs deepened.
The jab from Brussels came after the US tycoon singled out Europe in the surging trade row, threatening to tax German cars at a campaign rally Saturday, if the European Union doesn't lower barriers to US products.
Trump's threat was part of a dispute sparked by his announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, although the "America First" Trump administration has said it will consider exceptions and has already spared Mexico and Canada.
The announcement of duties of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum has stung the EU, coming as a surprise to US allies and to many in Washington.
Trump also said on Twitter on Monday that US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will talk to EU representatives about lowering their tariffs and other barriers to US products.
"Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross will be speaking with representatives of the European Union about eliminating the large Tariffs and Barriers they use against the U.S.A. Not fair to our farmers and manufacturers," Trump tweeted.
"In some places trade has been to blame for the pains of globalization or they used it as a scapegoat or they think we can live behind walls and borders," European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said on Monday at a trade conference in Brussels.
"Recently we have seen how it is used as a weapon to threaten and intimidate us. But we are not afraid, we will stand up to the bullies," she said.
Brussels has pushed back the hardest against Washington's shock measures, loudly announcing a list of US products – including peanuts and motorcycles – it could hit with countermeasures.
Top US and EU trade officials meeting in Brussels Saturday failed to overcome their differences, but Malmstroem said talks would continue this week.
Source(s): AFP