The world may be teetering in the brink of a full-blown trade war.
This,... after the Trump administration announced it's imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on three of America's closest allies -- the EU, Canada and Mexico.
The U.S. tariffs will come into effect in around six hours from now.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
A full-scale trade war could be on the horizon.
The U.S. is imposing tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico,.... a decision that's overshadowing a gathering of G7 finance ministers and central bankers.
The decision ends months of uncertainty about possible exemptions and is sending a chill through financial markets around the world.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says the 25-pecent tariff on steel imports and ten percent tariff on aluminum imports will be imposed on the EU, Canada and Mexico starting at midnight Eastern Standard Time.
Responding to the move,... the EU said it will retaliate by targeting three-point-three billion dollars' worth of American imports,... like Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Levi's Jeans and bourbon.... and will also start a case against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization.
Canada said it will impose tariffs on as much as twelve-point-eight billion dollars of U.S. steel, aluminum and other products starting July 1st.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the U.S. measures as "punitive" and "unacceptable",... adding that the tariffs "will harm industry and workers on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border,... disrupting linked supply chains that have made North American steel and aluminum more competitive around the world".
The Mexican government also said the U.S. action was not justified.
It has vowed retaliation,... threatening to impose duties on everything from U.S. flat steel to cheese.
Despite the retaliatory warnings,... the U.S. commerce secretary says Washington is not concerned.
" Well even if the EU does retaliate and even if some others do, it still will remain unlikely to be as much as one percent on our economy. Remember just because they put tariffs on some of our products, it doesn't mean those sales will go to zero. And in the case of agriculture, they may very well find other markets that are just as good."
While the world may be closer to a full-scale trade war than at any time since the 1930s,... observers say the Trump administration is using tariffs to squeeze better trade terms out of China and the EU,... while putting pressure on Canada and Mexico to reform the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
