It appears with this move the US President who has promised to put “America First” has started folding the US market behind the isolationist wall. By using the protectionist policy as he has earlier said he wants to bring new boost to the US manufacturing industry making imports costlier through higher duty. His message is that if Germany and other European nations want to benefit from the vast US market they will have to set up plants first in the USA to create jobs for American workers. His policy makers have also made it clear if European and Japanese automakers were to avoid 35 percent anti-dumping duty they will have to shift their plants from Mexico to the USA. The world is meanwhile watching how Trump is going to unveil his anti-dumping policies against cheaper Chinese imports in which even his family members are in the forefront.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has reacted against the move saying the step breached global trade rules and unfairly disadvantaged suppliers in Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. He has warned that to deliberately violate WTO rules “is a dangerous step” and that “Europeans cannot accept this”.
He had noted “with utter incomprehension” the US Commerce Department’s decision on imports of carbon and alloy steel to impact German producers and other European companies. Despite our efforts and repeated interventions by the European Union, he said the US has applied duties that contravene WTO rules to harm US competitors in the steel industry and there is every indication that EU may respond with similar action on US exports to push the situation towards worse.
