CANADA/EU/MEXICO/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s move to slap penalties on imports from U.S. allies and China is moving the country to the brink of a global trade war — with U.S. consumers, farmers and manufacturers caught in the middle — as the White House tries to wrest concessions from reluctant trading partners. The Trump administration will impose new duties on steel and aluminum imports from three key trading partners — the European Union, Canada and Mexico — after failing to reach deals with them to address national security concerns related to the imports, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Thursday [5-31-18]. The decision has implications for farmers in key Midwestern states who will see their exports crimped, consumers who are expected to pay more, workers who may see cost-cutting in export-heavy industries and global relations with crucial trading partners as the U.S. tries to exert pressure on China…It also indicates that the administration has given up hope of finishing NAFTA negotiations with Canada and Mexico in the near future. That raises the question whether Trump will have the patience to wait until later this year or possibly even 2019 to get a new agreement, or if he will make good on a campaign promise to pull out of the 24-year-old pact.”
-Doug Palmer, “‘Today is a bad day for world trade’: Trump slaps U.S. allies with tariffs,” Politico, May 31, 2018 1:54 pm