Tit for Tat Tariffs - The US versus the World

essentialsaltes said:

EU-US trade deal ‘on hold’ after new Trump tariffs​

The pact, designed to avoid hefty tariffs on European exports, cannot be passed in light of Washington’s threats against Greenland, lawmakers say.

In a statement online, Manfred Weber, the president of the European People's Party (EPP), said that the escalating U.S.-Europe tensions meant the Parliament would not vote in favor of the pact, which sets U.S. tariffs on imports from the EU at 15 percent in exchange for the bloc not applying levies on American exports.

Trade 'bazooka'​

"I see no possibility for the European Parliament to give the green light to move forward with the tariff agreement when we take a decision on Wednesday. Instead, the EU must prepare to respond to President Trump’s tariff attacks, including those targeting Sweden," [Karin Karlsboro — the Swedish MEP] said. "We cannot rule out either retaliatory tariffs or the use of the 'bazooka' if the pressure and coercion continue.”

The EU's so-called trade "bazooka," or Anti-Coercion Instrument, offers a range of punitive measures that can be used against trade rivals that try to threaten the bloc. Among them are restrictions on investments and access to public procurement schemes, as well as limits on intellectual property protections.

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mark46 said:

These new tariffs are arguably the worst foreign policy mistake of Trump.

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mark46 said:

These new tariffs are arguably the worst foreign policy mistake of Trump.

These actions scuttle the trade agreement with the EU.

As an aside, I don't believe that these tariffs will harm the European countries. They will continue to sell more to each other and elsewhere. My personal view is that tariffs against Europe have been a major plus for Europe. Their economies did very well last year, with almost all their stock markets doing better than ours.


As an aside, except for war materials, airplanes and part, I don't think that the US is very dependent on trade with the EU.

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essentialsaltes said:

EU-US trade deal ‘on hold’ after new Trump tariffs​

The pact, designed to avoid hefty tariffs on European exports, cannot be passed in light of Washington’s threats against Greenland, lawmakers say.

In a statement online, Manfred Weber, the president of the European People's Party (EPP), said that the escalating U.S.-Europe tensions meant the Parliament would not vote in favor of the pact, which sets U.S. tariffs on imports from the EU at 15 percent in exchange for the bloc not applying levies on American exports.

Trade 'bazooka'​

"I see no possibility for the European Parliament to give the green light to move forward with the tariff agreement when we take a decision on Wednesday. Instead, the EU must prepare to respond to President Trump’s tariff attacks, including those targeting Sweden," [Karin Karlsboro — the Swedish MEP] said. "We cannot rule out either retaliatory tariffs or the use of the 'bazooka' if the pressure and coercion continue.”

The EU's so-called trade "bazooka," or Anti-Coercion Instrument, offers a range of punitive measures that can be used against trade rivals that try to threaten the bloc. Among them are restrictions on investments and access to public procurement schemes, as well as limits on intellectual property protections.

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Pommer said:

It sure is a good thing that history has never recorded a trade-war turning into a shooting-war.
Yup.

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camille70 said:

Americans Are the Ones Paying for Tariffs, Study Finds

https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/americans-are-the-ones-paying-for-tariffs-study-finds-e254ed2e

By analyzing $4 trillion of shipments between January 2024 and November 2025, the Kiel Institute researchers found that foreign exporters absorbed only about 4% of the burden of last year’s U.S. tariff increases by lowering their prices, while American consumers and importers absorbed 96%.

The tariffs had a significant effect on trade volumes: Facing higher U.S. tariffs, Indian exporters maintained their prices but reduced the volume of shipments to the U.S. by 18%-24% relative to the European Union, Canada and Australia, the report found.

Rather than acting as a tax on foreign producers, the tariffs functioned as a consumption tax on Americans, the report said.

“There is no such thing as foreigners transferring wealth to the U.S. in the form of tariffs,” said Julian Hinz, an economics professor at Germany’s Bielefeld University who co-authored the study.

The $200 billion in additional U.S. tariff revenue last year “was paid almost exclusively by Americans,” Hinz said. That is likely to fuel higher U.S. inflation over time, he said.

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GoldenBoy89 said:

The actual biggest scam ever pulled on the American people.

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A2SG said:

From someone experienced at pulling big scams.

-- A2SG, the biggest....

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essentialsaltes said:

In a flurry of comments and posts early Tuesday morning, Trump took a swipe at President Emmanuel Macron for rejecting an invitation to back his latest peace initiative and suggested the US would impose duties on France’s politically sensitive agriculture sector.

[This Board of Peace nonsense probably needs its own thread. But back to tariffs.]

“Nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon,” Trump told reporters Monday local time, after being informed Macron would decline his invitation. “I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes and he’ll join.”

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