Trump puts politics before common sense with EU trade war
- The US president is looking for distractions from impeachment push as well as trying to make economic gains for the supporters he will need to win the 2020 poll
A trade war between the United States and European Union would be more damaging than the one raging with China. US President Donald Trump seems oblivious to the implications, though, as he prepares to impose tariffs on US$7.5 billion of imports from Europe.
He has been given the go-ahead after a landmark ruling by the World Trade Organisation on a long-running dispute involving the aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing. With the US pledging to apply levies by October 18, politics is being put before common sense; economies, companies and people will bear the brunt.
Trump is consumed with winning a second presidential term in elections next year. He is looking for distractions from efforts by opposition Democrats to impeach him and trade disputes conveniently serve both purposes; they deflect attention while trying to make economic gains for supporters.
Farmers from American states that helped him win the presidency in 2016 will be the biggest beneficiaries of a recent trade agreement with Japan and agriculture features prominently in the disputes with China and the EU. But as the tit-for-tat measures taken by Beijing show, such actions can also backfire, to harmful effect.
US beef, pork and corn blocked by China was the focus of the Japanese negotiations. But no new markets have been found for the soybeans Beijing also rejected.
