After the meeting, however, Le Maire told reporters that it is up to the U.S. officials to decide whether they want to start a trade war with Europe, their biggest partner.
According to him, Europe didn’t want a trade conflict. However, Washington has to back down from unjustifiable, dangerous, and unjustified taxes. He added that the E.U, is going to respond with necessary measures if the U.S. imposes taxes.
Exemptions
The Trump administration gave permanent metal taxes exemptions to some countries. Some of those include Argentina, South Korea, and Australia. However, there is an import quota in each case.
The deadline for exemptions on Friday also affect Canada and Mexico. These countries are in negotiations with the U.S. as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Questions from the American People:
- How will higher import taxes help American businesses? Will retaliatory tariffs from other countries outweigh those benefits?
- How will our economic relationship with other countries affect their cooperation with us in military actions? How will it affect our diplomatic relationships?
