Donald Trump is not consistent on many things. But he is consistently protectionist. The tariffs he has imposed on his allies’ exports of steel and aluminium are part of a broader offensive against the market-based and rules-governed trading system. The EU and other allies need to retaliate in a proportionate, but forceful, manner.
The White House announced this week that some of its closest allies, the EU, Canada and Mexico, would no longer be exempt from its tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium.
In economic terms, this action is objectionable: the damage that will be done to domestic US users of steel and aluminium will undoubtedly far exceed any benefits to US consumers. For this reason, the protection is likely to spread upstream and so worldwide.