Mr Trump’s plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs on imports of steel and 10 per cent on imports of aluminium sparked international outcry last week, although the Trump administration has since attempted to soften the blow by saying it would consider exceptions, starting with Canada and Mexico.
Mrs Malmstrom’s comments, however, came after Mr Trump accused the Brussels bloc of treating the US “very badly on trade” and threatened to tax German cars.
“The European Union, wonderful countries who treat the U.S. very badly on trade, are complaining about the tariffs on Steel & Aluminum. If they drop their horrific barriers & tariffs on U.S. products going in, we will likewise drop ours. Big Deficit. If not, we Tax Cars etc. FAIR!” he said in a tweet published on Saturday.
The EU’s trade chief – who stressed last week that the bloc was a “close ally of the US” and should be “excluded” from the harsh measures – said in response to Mr Trump’s tweet that trade was being used a “weapon” to undermine the EU.
“Recently we have seen how protectionist trade measures have been used as a weapon to threaten and intimidate us. But we are not afraid and we will stand up to the bullies,” Mrs Malmstrom said at a trade conference in Brussels.
“In some places trade has been to blame for the pains of globalisation or they used it as a scapegoat or they think we can live behind walls and borders,” she continued.
The EU has promised to respond to Mr Trump’s stiff tariffs, warning that counter-measures would include European tariffs on US exported orange juice, bourbon, denim, peanut butter and cranberries.
“We have a whole arsenal at our disposal with which to respond,” European Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told France’s BFM TV news channel shortly before Mr Trump signed separate proclamations ordering the tariffs last Thursday, stoking fears of a global trade war.
Mr Trump described the “dumping” of steel and aluminium in the US market as an “assault on our country,” adding that domestic metals production was vital to national security.
“If you don’t want to pay tax, bring your plant to the USA,” he said.