{"id":93693,"date":"2025-03-12T06:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T14:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/?p=93693"},"modified":"2025-03-12T08:54:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T16:54:07","slug":"trade-war-escalates-as-european-union-hits-back-against-donald-trumps-tariffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/prophecy\/trade-war-escalates-as-european-union-hits-back-against-donald-trumps-tariffs\/","title":{"rendered":"Trade war escalates as European Union hits back against Donald Trump’s tariffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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COGwriter<\/a><\/p>\n

Trade issues, brought on by Donald Trump’s tariff proposals, are impacting many nations. The European Union made an attempt to hit back against them with more tariffs of its own:<\/p>\n

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European Union retaliates against Trump\u2019s tariffs as trade war escalates<\/h2>\n

As President Donald Trump\u2019s global steel and aluminum tariffs take effect, the E.U. announces it will respond with its own levies, including on bourbon and motorcycles. https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2025\/03\/12\/europe-tariff-retaliation-trump\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump metals tariffs draw swift retaliation from Canada and EU<\/h2>\n

March 12, 2025<\/p>\n

Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on all U.S. steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday, stepping up a campaign to reorder global trade in favor of the U.S. and drawing swift retaliation from Canada and Europe.<\/p>\n

Trump’s action to bulk up protections for American steel and aluminum producers restores effective tariffs of 25% on all imports of the metals and extends the duties to hundreds of downstream products<\/a>, from nuts and bolts to bulldozer blades and soda cans. …<\/p>\n

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union charged with coordinating trade matters, responded swiftly, saying it would impose counter tariffs<\/a> on up to 26 billion euros ($28 billion) worth of U.S. goods – often with more symbolic than economic impact – from next month. …<\/p>\n

Canada, the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States, will announce C$29.8 billion in retaliatory tariffs on Wednesday, a Canadian official who declined to be named said.
\nChina’s foreign ministry said Beijing would take all necessary measures to safeguard its rights and interests, while Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the move could have a major impact on U.S.-Japan economic ties.
\nClose U.S. allies Canada, Britain and Australia criticised the blanket tariffs, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the move was “against the spirit of our two nations’ enduring friendship”. However, he ruled out tit-for-tat duties, as did Britain.<\/p>\n

The other countries most affected by the tariffs are Brazil, Mexico and South Korea, which all enjoyed some level of exemptions or quotas. …<\/p>\n

Trump initially threatened Canada with doubling the duty to 50% on its steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. but backed off<\/a> after Canada’s Ontario province suspended a move to impose a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to some U.S. states. https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/commodities\/trumps-steel-aluminum-tariffs-take-effect-us-canada-trade-war-intensifies-2025-03-12\/<\/a><\/p>\n

March 12, 2025<\/p>\n

Brussels hit back after the US tariffs came into force on Wednesday, as Trump pressed ahead with his trade agenda despite growing concern over the risk of a domestic recession.<\/p>\n

As part of its retaliation, Brussels reinstated measures introduced during Trump\u2019s first term on \u20ac4.5bn of US exports from April 1. These include levies of up to\u00a050% on products such as bourbon whiskey, jeans and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.\u00a0<\/strong>That’s right: when you barely imports goods from the US, these are the “essential” products you are forced to crack down on.<\/p>\n

The EU has also drawn up levies on a further \u20ac18bn of US goods, which could include cosmetics, clothes, wood, soybeans, chicken, beef and other agricultural produce the\u00a0FT reported<\/a>. The measures, which could be expanded to include another \u20ac3.5bn of goods, require approval by EU countries and would come into force on April 13.<\/p>\n

A senior EU official said\u00a0soybeans were on the list of targets because they are grown in Louisiana, home state of House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re happy to buy our soybeans from Brazil or Argentina,\u201d they added. \u201cWe want to ensure there is pressure within the American system to lift their tariffs,\u201d a second official said.<\/p>\n

But in a stark example of just how much Trump has broken the world’s resolve,\u00a0the UK broke with the European Union and its decision to retaliate immediately,\u00a0<\/strong>and reaffirmed its commitment to US trade talks even as British exports were also swept up in President Donald Trump\u2019s global steel and aluminum tariffs.<\/p>\n

UK leftist Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d by the US decision to impose 25% levies on foreign metal products without exemptions on Wednesday morning, telling the House of Commons that his government would keep \u201call options\u201d on the table in terms of a response. Yet despite the jawboning, Junior Treasury minister James Murray told Times Radio\u00a0the UK wouldn\u2019t retaliate immediately while reserving the right to do so in due course.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the US being the UK steel industry\u2019s second-biggest export market, the UK said it was \u201cfocused on a pragmatic approach\u201d as it seeks to negotiate a broader economic deal with the White House. https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/economics\/eu-retaliates-after-trump-tariffs-take-effect-uk-breaks-europe-and-refuses-respond<\/a><\/p>\n

The EU moves to protect itself<\/strong><\/p>\n

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement that the bloc \u201cwill always remain open to negotiation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the U.S. are applying tariffs worth 28 billion dollars, we are responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euros,\u201d she said. The commission manages trade and commercial conflicts on behalf of the 27 member EU countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe firmly believe that in a world fraught with geopolitical and economic uncertainties, it is not in our common interest to burden our economies with tariffs,\u201d von der Leyen said. https:\/\/www.newsmax.com\/finance\/streettalk\/europe-tariffs-retaliate\/2025\/03\/12\/id\/1202452\/<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As far as the European Union goes, it has been taking steps to increase trade with other nations, partially driven by Donald Trump’s election last November.<\/p>\n

Notice also the following report:<\/p>\n

A trade agreement with the Latin American bloc – comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – and further integration of Ukraine into the common agricultural market, particularly in light of its potential EU membership, offer opportunities that the EU cannot afford to overlook amid global trade tensions, EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen told Euronews’ Europe Conversation. … a potential trade war with the US strengthens the case for finalising the long-negotiated EU-Mercosur agreement.<\/p>\n

Hansen explained that some European agricultural products – such as wines, spirits, and dairy – are particularly strategic, as they serve as the EU\u2019s key \u201cexport hammers\u201d and as such require protection.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the United States were to target such products, [thanks to an EU-Mercosur deal] we would have alternative ways to sell our products ensuring stability [to our farmers],\u201d he said. https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2025\/02\/27\/trade-ties-with-ukraine-mercosur-can-shield-eu-from-us-tariffs-says-agriculture-commission<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The EU is also looking to finalize a trade deal with India (see\u00a0European Union seeks to improve trade ties with India as it faces Donald Trump\u2019s tariff threats<\/a>) as well as Mexico, the Caribbean, and Latin America:<\/p>\n

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The new EU-Mexico agreement: the EU fast-tracks integration with Latin America<\/h2>\n

February 3, 2025<\/p>\n

These are the questions about the modernisation of the EU-Mexico Global Agreement:\u00a0 … The renewal of the EU-Mexico FTA updates an agreement that has been in place since 2000, eliminating restrictions in key sectors such as agri-food, services and public procurement, in addition to incorporating regulations on digital trade and data protection.<\/p>\n

The EU accelerates its integration with Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) in response to the geopolitical reconfiguration and the uncertainty and risks of a second Donald Trump presidency. In the last 13 months the EU has modernised key agreements with Mexico and Chile, and finalised the agreement with Mercosur, seeking to strengthen its presence in the region and diversify its alliances in the face of US unilateralism and protectionism and the growing influence of China. …<\/p>\n

For LAC, the EU emerges as a large and sophisticated third market, complementing existing trade opportunities and allowing LAC countries to integrate into high value-added value chains and diversify their economic relations, thus reducing their dependence on the two main global powers, the US and China.<\/p>\n

The next key step should be the interoperability and regulatory convergence among the network of trade agreements between the EU and Latin America (covering 95% of the GDP of Latin America and the Caribbean) to transform the architecture of EU-LAC trade and Latin American intraregional trade. …<\/p>\n

If the EU-Mercosur agreement is ratified, the EU would become the global power with the largest presence and deepest ties in the region<\/a>: the EU would have agreements with all LAC countries (except Cuba and Venezuela) covering 95% of the LAC\u2019s GDP, compared with 44% for the US and 14% for China<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.realinstitutoelcano.org\/en\/analyses\/the-new-eu-mexico-agreement-the-eu-fast-tracks-integration-with-latin-america\/<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, Europe is looking to increase trade with places other than the USA and many of them are also looking to reduce their dependence on trade with the USA. The UK\u00a0 has, wisely from a carnal perspective, decided to hold off retaliating–that hesitancy probably will aid it in future trade negotiations with the USA.<\/p>\n

In our free e-book: Lost Tribes and Prophecies:\u00a0What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?<\/a>, we have the following:<\/p>\n

Latin America has a lot of ethnic and social ties to Europe, as do many other nations in the Caribbean and South America (which includes a few non-Latin nations\u2014which also have European ties). Though there may be some initial hesitation, those areas are expected to align with the coming Beast power and prosper from it (cf. Revelation 18:15).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We see that Europe and Latin America are now trying to more closely align.<\/p>\n

There will be many unintended consequences of Donald Trump’s statements and policies, including relating to trade and tariffs. Notice something from my latest book available at Amazon Kindle: Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump\u2019s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?<\/a>\u00a0as well as Amazon print\u00a0Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump\u2019s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?<\/a><\/span><\/span>:<\/p>\n

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Trade<\/strong><\/p>\n

Historically, Donald Trump has called for \u201cfair trade\u201d and indicated that various nations, including several in Asia, are not engaged in fair trade, so he has proposed high tariffs.[i]<\/a><\/p>\n

Donald Trump has called tariffs, \u201cthe most beautiful word in the dictionary\u201d and even proposed massive tariffs (up to 2000%) on Mexico if it will not do what he wants.[ii]<\/a> He has basically also proposed a minimum of 10% tariffs on goods from much of the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

Some believe that Donald Trump\u2019s positions on trade will lead to a global trade war.[iii]<\/a> Europe has said it will hit back against Donald Trump\u2019s tariff policies.[iv]<\/a> It is my position that trade disputes will be a factor in Europe taking military action against the USA one day.<\/p>\n

One of the unintended consequences of Donald Trump\u2019s threats of tariffs and other trade matters is that it is motivating nations he has threatened to look to trade more with each other.<\/p>\n

The morning after his reelection, I wrote:<\/p>\n

According to the major media, Donald Trump won re-election. … Europe will get more serious about trade deals with others internationally, such as being more motivated to approve the trade deal with the Mercosur block of South America.[v]<\/a><\/p>\n

On December 6, 2024, Politico<\/em> reported that the European Union approved the massive Mercosur trade deal, despite opposition from France and others, and also pointed to Donald Trump\u2019s reelection as a factor.[vi]<\/a><\/p>\n

… Donald Trump\u2019s tariff and other economic policies are getting the Gentile nations of Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia to look to trade more with each other. An unintended consequence of his rhetoric and policies is that they are encouraging the end-time rise of the final time of the Gentiles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Energy and climate policy differences between the Europeans and Donald Trump look to increase the negative view many in Europe already have about the USA. …<\/p>\n