French President Emmanuel Macron has told US President Donald Trump that the new US tariffs on European, Mexican and Canadian goods are illegal and a "mistake."
Macron's office said in a statement today that the two presidents spoke by phone after Trump's administration announced the decision yesterday to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and 10 per cent tariffs on aluminum.
The European Union is planning retaliatory tariffs on US steel and food goods in the coming weeks, once it calculates the exact cost to European Union companies of the US tariffs.
Macron pledged the riposte would be "firm" and "proportionate" and in line with World Trade Organization rules.
The US decision came despite last-minute talks in Paris this week to try to reach a deal.
The EU's trade chief, Cecilia Malmstrom, said today that the move to impose tariffs "is further weakening the Trans-Atlantic relations." She said the measures "will cause a lot of damage to our steel and aluminum industry" and risk hurting global economic growth.
She dismissed the Trump administration's argument that the tariffs are needed for US national security reasons.
"Internal security is not relevant. It is pure protectionism," she said.
Companies around the world have expressed concern about the tariffs and the risk that it could start a trade war, in which both sides hit each other with tit-for-tat measures.
Germany's Volkswagen, Europe's largest automaker, no side would win a trade war.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Volkswagen said it views the tariffs with "regret and concern."
"There are fears that this marks the start of a negative spiral of measures and countermeasures where there will ultimately be no winners," the company said.
The Wolfsburg-based company is calling for dialogue between the US and the EU within recognised World Trade Organization principles "in order to prevent any long-term economic damage.
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