Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on automotive imports in the name of national security has drawn condemnation from US trading partners around the world and warnings that it would disrupt global supply chains and put the international trading system at risk.
The European Commission, which is in negotiations with the US to avoid steel and aluminium tariffs due to go into effect on June 1, said it was “far-fetched” to invoke a national security consideration for car imports. That sets the stage for a possible challenge to any US tariffs at the World Trade Organization.
“Let’s see where this investigation leads. As far as we can see, this is something that would be against WTO rules,” Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU’s trade commissioner, told a business summit in Brussels.