Ahead of G7, Trump Picks Tariff Fight With Allies

FEATURING DOUG HENWOOD – President Donald Trump will travel to Quebec, Canada later this week for the annual G7 meeting, and what is sure to be an awkward gathering of heads of state angry at the US for recently announced tariffs. Trump has launched a large-scale trade war with a number of US allies including European and North American nations in a move even his own party is shocked by.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lashed out at the US saying that Trump’s 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum were “insulting,” and “totally unacceptable.” Trudeau added, “We have to believe that at some point their common sense will prevail. But we see no sign of that in this action today by the US administration.”

The European Union trade commissioner warned that Trump was playing a “dangerous game.” The EU has formally lodged a complaint against the US with the World Trade Organization and announced retaliatory tariffs on products like Harley Davidson motorcycles and bourbon. Mexico has also announced retaliatory tariffs on a number of US products including steel, pork, and also bourbon.

Doug Henwood, political economist, editor of Left Business Observer, author of After the New Economy, and My Turn: Hillary Clinton Targets The Presidency