Tariffs Catch-All

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www.politico.eu

EU wields ‘sledgehammer’ against Trump tariffs

Brussels strikes back against the U.S. president’s 25 percent levies on steel and aluminum.
www.politico.eu www.politico.eu

The European Union hit back hard as U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 25 percent global steel and aluminum tariffs on Wednesday, announcing a two-stage retaliation covering €26 billion in EU exports that far exceeded a trade fight that blew up in his first term.

The European Commission said it would, from April 1, reimpose tariffs in response to €8 billion in U.S. tariffs — including on iconic American products such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles, bourbon and jeans. And, from mid-April, it will set further countermeasures over €18 billion in new U.S. tariffs, subject to the approval of EU member states.

“We deeply regret this measure,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an early-morning statement.
“Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers. These tariffs are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. In Europe and in the United States. The European Union must act to protect consumers and business.”

Speaking before the announcement, one European steel industry representative said that Brussels would “go full sledgehammer because they are so fed up with Trump.”

The 27-nation bloc — a common market spanning 450 million people — wants to send an unmistakable message that the EU is serious about defending its economic interests should Trump launch a full-scale trade war.

The $1.7 trillion transatlantic trade relationship has been pivotal to the West’s postwar prosperity. But Trump, angered by the persistent U.S. trade deficit in goods, sees tariffs as a way to force businesses to bring industrial investment and jobs back to the United States.
 
Interestingly, the UK is not retaliating as they are still hamstrung economically from Brexit. Basically they can't afford to join in the global party.
 
Batt Boy said:
www.nytimes.com

Why the UK Has Not Retaliated Against Trump’s Tariffs

Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to stay close to the United States, even as the uncertainty unleashed by President Trump offers a chance to build ties with the European Union.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
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His own people won't allow him to stay so cozy with us for very long. Brits, for all their "better than" snobbishness are far more aligned with the rest of Europe than they are with us.
 

Live updates: Canada will announce more than $20 billion in tariffs in response to Trump’s metal tax​


apnews.com

Live updates: Canada will announce more than $20 billion in tariffs in response to Trump's metal tax

The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration’s increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%.
apnews.com apnews.com

“Canada will announce Canadian $29.8 billion ($20.7 billion) in retaliatory tariffs in response to the 25% steel and aluminum tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has leveled, a senior Canadian government official said Wednesday.

IMG_5516.jpeg
 
Brown-Forman (parent corp of Jack Daniels) is down 7% today after announcement of European tariffs.
 
altmin said:
Brown-Forman (parent corp of Jack Daniels) is down 7% today after announcement of European tariffs.
Click to expand...
Just when I was hoping the taters would move on to something else...

Maybe the tariffs will increase price and rarity enough to get their attention?
 

The Daily — Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada, February 2025

In February, the preliminary number of international arrivals to Canada by air and automobile was 4.1 million, down 10.9% from February 2024. This was the first year-over-year decline since March 2021.
www150.statcan.gc.ca www150.statcan.gc.ca

In February, the number of Canadian-resident return trips by automobile from the US totalled 1.2 million, a steep decline (-23.0%) from the same month in 2024 (Chart 4). February 2025 marked the second consecutive month of year-over-year decline and the second decline observed since March 2021.

On Monday, February 17, 2025 (Family Day in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan; Heritage Day in Nova Scotia; Islander Day in Prince Edward Island; Louis Riel Day in Manitoba), the highest number of return trips by automobile from the US per day (78,000) was observed. This was 119.8% higher than the daily average for the remaining Mondays in February (35,500).
 
altmin said:
www.theguardian.com

Trump tariffs of 25% on steel and aluminium come into effect globally as Europe says it will retaliate – as it happened

Brussels countermeasures to target €26bn of US goods from April while UK takes ‘pragmatic’ approach; US tariffs cover wide range of household goods such as tin foil
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the global response to Donald Trump’s new tariffs. The 25% global tariffs on steel and aluminium came into effect at midnight ET “with no exceptions or exemptions”.

The European Commission responded almost immediately, saying it would impose counter tariffs on €26bn ($28bn) worth of US goods from next month.

“We deeply regret this measure,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement about the US tariffs, as Brussels announced it would be “launching a series of countermeasures” in response to the “unjustified trade restrictions”.

Australian deputy prime minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday the lack of exemptions was “really disappointing”, calling tariffs “an act of kind of economic self-harm”. He told radio station 2GB:



...

Community Union: Tariffs 'hugely damaging and threaten jobs'​

Community Union, Britain’s steelworkers’ union says the tariffs are “hugely damaging” and threaten jobs – and “self-defeating” for the United States.

Alasdair McDiarmid, Community’s assistant general secretary, said:
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More markets US businesses will be losing. Can anyone explain how this will in any way be a net benefit for the USA?
(It’s a rhetorical question, even the Trumpers here know the answer is, “of course not”).
 
globalnews.ca

Canadians’ travel to U.S. continues to drop amid weak loonie, tariffs - National | Globalnews.ca

Air Canada has announced a decrease of 10 per cent in flights to three sun destinations, while Flair Airlines says U.S.-bound flights are down by 24 per cent for March.
globalnews.ca globalnews.ca
Airlines and travel companies have seen bookings to the United States plummet as Canadians rethink their plans amid anger over the trade war set off by U.S. President Donald Trump as well as a weak loonie.

Travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group Canada says leisure bookings to American cities dropped 40 per cent in February from the same month in 2024. One in five customers cancelled their trips to the U.S. over the past three months.

Now that sweeping tariffs on most goods headed to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico are in place, travellers show no signs of reversing that trend.

“We’re making those choices to travel to destinations that really align more with our values,” said Flight Centre spokeswoman Amra Durakovic.

Air Canada announced last month it would reduce flights by 10 per cent to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona starting in March — usually go-to hot spots during spring break season.

WestJet said in an email there has been a shift in bookings from the U.S. to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean.

The number of U.S.-bound flights from budget carrier Flair Airlines is down 24 per cent year-over-year for March, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Air Transat flight figures fell 12 per cent, while Sunwing Airlines scrapped all its U.S. flights.

...

Roughly 3.5 million Canadians visit Florida each year — half a million of them for months at a time — spending about $6.5 billion, according to a 2018 economic impact study by Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service.
 
altmin said:
globalnews.ca

Canadians’ travel to U.S. continues to drop amid weak loonie, tariffs - National | Globalnews.ca

Air Canada has announced a decrease of 10 per cent in flights to three sun destinations, while Flair Airlines says U.S.-bound flights are down by 24 per cent for March.
globalnews.ca globalnews.ca
Airlines and travel companies have seen bookings to the United States plummet as Canadians rethink their plans amid anger over the trade war set off by U.S. President Donald Trump as well as a weak loonie.

Travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group Canada says leisure bookings to American cities dropped 40 per cent in February from the same month in 2024. One in five customers cancelled their trips to the U.S. over the past three months.

Now that sweeping tariffs on most goods headed to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico are in place, travellers show no signs of reversing that trend.

“We’re making those choices to travel to destinations that really align more with our values,” said Flight Centre spokeswoman Amra Durakovic.

Air Canada announced last month it would reduce flights by 10 per cent to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona starting in March — usually go-to hot spots during spring break season.

WestJet said in an email there has been a shift in bookings from the U.S. to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean.

The number of U.S.-bound flights from budget carrier Flair Airlines is down 24 per cent year-over-year for March, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Air Transat flight figures fell 12 per cent, while Sunwing Airlines scrapped all its U.S. flights.

...

Roughly 3.5 million Canadians visit Florida each year — half a million of them for months at a time — spending about $6.5 billion, according to a 2018 economic impact study by Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service.
Click to expand...
More customer US businesses are losing. Why do MAGAs think Trump is a good businessman again? Because he only bankrupted three casinos?
 
altmin said:
globalnews.ca

Canadians’ travel to U.S. continues to drop amid weak loonie, tariffs - National | Globalnews.ca

Air Canada has announced a decrease of 10 per cent in flights to three sun destinations, while Flair Airlines says U.S.-bound flights are down by 24 per cent for March.
globalnews.ca globalnews.ca
Airlines and travel companies have seen bookings to the United States plummet as Canadians rethink their plans amid anger over the trade war set off by U.S. President Donald Trump as well as a weak loonie.

Travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group Canada says leisure bookings to American cities dropped 40 per cent in February from the same month in 2024. One in five customers cancelled their trips to the U.S. over the past three months.

Now that sweeping tariffs on most goods headed to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico are in place, travellers show no signs of reversing that trend.

“We’re making those choices to travel to destinations that really align more with our values,” said Flight Centre spokeswoman Amra Durakovic.

Air Canada announced last month it would reduce flights by 10 per cent to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona starting in March — usually go-to hot spots during spring break season.

WestJet said in an email there has been a shift in bookings from the U.S. to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean.

The number of U.S.-bound flights from budget carrier Flair Airlines is down 24 per cent year-over-year for March, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Air Transat flight figures fell 12 per cent, while Sunwing Airlines scrapped all its U.S. flights.

...

Roughly 3.5 million Canadians visit Florida each year — half a million of them for months at a time — spending about $6.5 billion, according to a 2018 economic impact study by Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service.
Click to expand...
It ain't just Canadians. The American tourism industry is going to get hammered.

And Las Vegas? I can't imagine casino owners are feeling great right now. Hey waiters and waitresses in Vegas, how are you enjoying your "no taxes on tips"? Oh, right, that was bullshit. Meanwhile, tax on tips not given really doesn't matter.
 

American Whiskey, Motorcycles to Be Hit With 50% Tariffs in Europe​

EU response to Trump’s steel and aluminum levies takes aim at politically sensitive products​


Gift link —> https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/a...78?st=Ad21ZQ&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink

“… Starting April 1, the EU plans 50% tariffs on imports of American whiskey, motorcycles and motorboats. Other products facing new or raised import duties at the beginning of the month include cranberries, garden umbrellas, tablecloths and handkerchiefs.

A second set of levies is due to take effect in mid-April. An initial list includes goods ranging from American chewing gum to poultry, white chocolate, soybeans, carpets and watermelons. The bloc said it would consult with member states and stakeholders before completing that list. …”
 
Healing said:
So many of those items make me go “huh?” that they must be incredibly targeted at red districts, yeah? I get whiskey and motorcycles, but gum? White chocolate (what heathen consumes that, as is?)? Handkerchiefs (sickos)?
Click to expand...
I doubt it. This is just how trade works. It's incredibly detailed. They are aiming to hurt Republicans politically, but that's far from the only consideration.

Part of the calculation is going to be the existence or non-existence of domestic suppliers to pick up the slack. If there's a European motorcycle company ready to ramp up production, then the tariff on Harley won't hurt nearly as much. In some cases, it might even function as an infant industry protection, which is normally seen as a "good tariff" (compared to others -- not necessarily good in an absolute sense).

Also, the tariffed goods should have high elasticity of demand. Tariffing medical devices isn't a good idea: people need a new knee when they break their original, and they don't need it before then and they aren't going to put it off. So if you put a 50% tariff on a medical device, it will raise costs for consumers without hurting the medical device manufacturer much in the short term.

But handkerchiefs? Few people *need* those. Slap a 25% tariff and consumption likely goes down by a lot.
 
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