The US government imposed import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum in March, but it provided a temporary exemption until May 1 for the EU. Judging by both Merkel and Trump's statements to the media following their meeting, Trump is probably not going to make the exemption permanent. In short, 'Europe must pay!
Coupled with the EU leaders' failure to turn Trump back from reneging on the JCPOA Iran deal, this week's meeting with the leaders of Europe's two biggest countries serves to underscore a 'parting of ways' within the Atlantic alliance.
Reader Comments
Europe prefers low-priced Russian gas to the expensive fracked supply the Poles are importing from USA. Europe has quite extensive trade with Russia that is irrelevant to US policy assessments. USA is pushing a reluctant Europe to spend more on arms, an important US export. Finally, the intended American breach of the Iran treaty is precisely not something Europe wants. Its readily conceivable that Europe will start extracting itself from the bear hug of Washington DC.
I think Mr Quinn has recognised something that we will not be reading in the MSM.
I think "details" like these should be mentioned in any meaningful discussion. Basically Russians force buyers to pay more, once they cornered the market, plus they always impose rules like "take or pay" and barring from re-export. So it's only natural to find another options, if only to negotiate more fair prices and better conditions.