Should Brussels be worried about new tariffs? Not so much, says our Brussels correspondent.
ADVERTISEMENTDonald Trump did not mention the European Union or any individual European country by name.
But he said something that could be seen as a warning to Europeans: “The era of economic surrender is over,” he declared.
What he meant by that with regard to Europe, Trump had outlined just a few days before.
In Davos he complained about the EU’s trade policy, which he called “very unfair”.
Trump has already bumped up tariffs on household appliances from China and South Korea – and the EU could be his next target.
Should Brussels be worried? Maybe not.
When George W. Bush slapped tariffs on foreign steel in 2002, the rest of the world retaliated, which ultimately cost the U.S. economy dearly.
Bush’ tariffs were scrapped after only 20 months. If Trump goes down the same path, we might see a similar same outcome.
