So, Trump is definitely crazy.
I mean, there has been a thorough analysis made of the effect of Dubya's steel tariffs, and it was very costly for the USA, both in damage to GDP and in lost jobs. Can't see why anyone with half a brain would do the same thing again.
As I posted earlier, the EU has prepared counter measures that have been chosen to mainly hurt states that voted for Trump in 2016. These will now go into effect,
A hilarious statement by Trump is that he does not want to negotiate with the EU, but with each separate country. Yeah right. I suppose the EU response should be to not negotiate with Washington, but with each individual state.....
The saddest thing though is not the immense economic damage these measures will cause on both sides of the Atlantic, but the growing conviction in Europe that the USA is no longer an ally. Both Metckel and Macron have stated that Europe must start to realize that the US is no longer a partner.
The same became obvious when Trump withdrew from the Iran deal. That deal is not a bilateral agreement, but signed by several nations, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom. These countries have stated that they intend to honour the agreement they have signed, as long as Iran upholds its part of the deal. The honorable thing to do, Pacta sunt servandum.
Now, what happens is that the USA threatens to punish European companies that trade with Iran. These companies then get in the awkward position that they are encouraged by their governments to fulfill contracts that have been signed, but threatened by the US government if they do so. Imho what the US is doing here must be considered criminal meddling in the affairs of other nations.
A similar thing happened before, when the US congress passed a law that stated that companies that did business with Cuba could have their assets in the USA seized. The EU then answered by passing a law that made it illegalfor European countries to obey the US law, and that any Europeancountry that had assets seized in the USA would be compensated by receiving corresponding assets seized from US companies in Europe. This swift move ensured that no US president has signed the law, so it has never taken effect. I assume the EU will attempt to prepare similar counter measuresif the US really starts harassing Europeancompanies for doing business with Iran.
Oh, well. I guess this is the beginning of the end of Trump's presidency. The trade war that he is starting will strike against the heartland of the USA, and pretty soon the voters will start to realize that they'd be better off without him.