Not only is Trump sending the stock market tumbling, but now Europe is threatening to retaliate if Trump starts a trade war:
US NEWS – U.S. President Donald Trump is risking an economically damaging trade war with his closest allies if he goes ahead with plans to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, European officials warned Friday.
Trump, who has long-railed against what he deems unfair trade practices by China and others, said Thursday he planned to levy penalties of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports from next week.
“We are not going to sit on our hands while our industry is at risk of being hit with unfair measures,” said European Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein.
“We are going to respond swiftly, firmly and in a proportionate way.”
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire echoed the stance of the Commission, which coordinates and supervises EU trade policy.
“The United States must know that if these unilateral decisions were to be maintained and confirmed, they would lead to a strong, coordinated and united answer from the European Union,” Le Maire said, adding that he planned calls with his German and British counterparts later in the day.
The European Union is thought to be considering retaliatory tariffs, roughly one third of which would target steel, one third agriculture, and one third other products.
Steel and aluminum are used in so many things that I can’t imagine just how devastating a trade war would be to prices.
Here we are on the precipice of a potentially booming economy thanks to the tax reform Republicans passed, and now Trump wants to start a trade war that will no doubt hurt many industries, just as his trade war with Canada last year hurt the lumber industry.