Trump recently threatened to open a whole new front in his global trade war by imposing tariffs on the European Union (EU) and the EU has now prepared a list of tariffs it will impose in retaliation if he does.
Reuters reports that the EU has drafted a list of nearly $23 billion in retaliatory tariffs that will be ready to go if Trump moves first.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission has drawn up a list of U.S. imports worth around 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion) that it could hit with tariffs over a transatlantic aircraft subsidy dispute, EU diplomats said on Friday. [...]
EU diplomats said the [European Commission] was expected to publish a list of products on April 17 and begin a process of public consultation, after which the list could then be adjusted.
Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on the EU for subsidizing Airbus, Boeing's closest competitor.
Whatever your opinion of subsidies may be, the truth is we subsidize many manufacturers here in the US including Boeing and the EU has prepared this list of tariffs in response to our own subsidies.
As usual, Trump is making it clear to the rest of the world that he believes they should have to play by a certain set of rules with one hand tied behinds their backs while America does not.
Trump's foreign economic policy -- to the extent that he even has a coherent, definable policy -- is belligerence.