Following on from our blog article yesterday, The European Union has announced this afternoon that it will launch a raft of retaliatory tariffs against US exports on Friday.
The move comes after US President Donald Trump imposed steep duties on steel and aluminium earlier this month.
EU Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom confirmed that key American exports such as blue jeans, motorbikes, bourbon whiskey, cranberries, orange juice, sweetcorn and peanut butter are among the goods to be targeted.
The Commissioner was keen to stress that the EU Bloc “did not want to be in this position”. However, “The unilateral and unjustified decision of the US to impose steel and aluminium tariffs on the EU means that we are left with no other choice,” she said.
The global markets have so far remained fairly stable. However, there is a risk that as this trade war ramps up it could have a very destabilising effect on the global economy as the tariff increases are passed through to consumers through retail price increases.
You can read the latest news on this fast developing store BBC Business News
