Germany urges 'determined' EU response to US steel tariffs

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel today called for a "determined" response from the European Union to US President Donald Trump's decision to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
The EU "must respond with determination to US punitive tariffs that threaten thousands of jobs in Europe," Gabriel told newspaper Die Welt, saying there should be "no doubt in Washington" that a response would be forthcoming from Brussels.
Nevertheless, the US and the European bloc "should do everything possible to avoid an international trade war," he added.
Trump's announcement yesterday of a 25-per cent tariff on steel and 10-percent levy on aluminium - to be signed off next week - riled producer countries and sent stock markets tumbling around the world, over fears of escalating tit-for-tat retaliation.

The move from Washington was "not at all acceptable," Gabriel said, adding that German and European manufacturers "do not practice unfair competition with dumping prices" and urging President Trump to "rethink his announcement".
Gabriel's comments came after European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said yesterday that the EU would present "World Trade Organisation-compatible countermeasures against the US to rebalance the situation".

German industry groups were also critical.
The BDI German industry federation "supports the EU in its plans to offer an appropriate response", its president Dieter Kempf said in a statement.
However, "there is too much at stake" to risk a trade war, he added.

the head of the DIHK German Chambers of Commerce, Martin Wansleben, warned that Trump's move "could jolt the entire world trade system," but called for the EU to work with other nations to offer only a "proportionate" response at the WTO.
"Especially the highly internationalised German economy depends on open markets," he pointed out.