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  • US impose new trade tariffs; EU, Mexico pledge to retaliate

    05/31/2018 8:02:21 AM PDT · by Olog-hai · 16 replies
    Associated Press ^ | May 31, 2018 10:44 AM EDT | Ken Thomas and Angela Charlton
    The Trump administration announced Thursday it will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe, Mexico and Canada after failing to win concessions from the American allies. Europe and Mexico pledged to retaliate quickly, exacerbating trans-Atlantic and North American trade tensions. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the tariffs would be 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, and go into effect on Friday, as the administration followed through on the penalties after earlier granting exemptions to buy time for negotiations. President Donald Trump had announced the tariffs in March, citing national security concerns. The European Commission’s president,...
  • Merkel visits China seeking united front against Trump on trade, Iran

    05/22/2018 7:10:34 AM PDT · by Olog-hai · 61 replies
    AFP via TheLocal.de ^ | 22 May 2018 14:18 CEST+02:00
    Chancellor Angela Merkel visits China on Thursday, seeking to close ranks with the world’s biggest exporting nation as US President Donald Trump shakes up explosive issues from trade to Iran’s nuclear deal. Finding a common strategy to ward off a trade war and keep markets open will be Merkel’s priority when she meets with President Xi Jinping, as Washington brandishes the threat of imposing punitive tariffs on aluminium and steel imports. “Both countries are in agreement that open markets and rules-based world trade are necessary. That’s the main focus of this trip,” Merkel’s spokeswoman Martina Fietz said in Berlin on...
  • Revolt: Three EU nations block resolution meant to “embarrass and isolate” the White House

    05/13/2018 4:51:59 PM PDT · by Kaslin · 79 replies
    Hotair.com ^ | May 13, 2018 | JAZZ SHAW
    Preparations are underway for the grand opening of the new United States embassy to Israel in Jerusalem. While the President won’t be able to attend as he prepares for his summit with North Korea, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have arrived to do the honors along with a number of other delegates. But not everyone is quite so thrilled with this development, particularly in some parts of the European Union. They were preparing to put forward a resolution condemning the embassy move, delivering a statement which was explicitly designed to “embarrass and isolate the Trump administration” ahead of the ceremony....
  • Exposed and dependent: Germany desperate to avoid trade war

    05/06/2018 4:56:29 PM PDT · by Olog-hai · 35 replies
    Reuters ^ | May 4, 2018 11:28 AM | Paul Carrel, Michael Nienaber
    As Europe’s biggest exporter to the United States and with more than 1 million German jobs at stake, Germany is desperate to avoid a European Union trade war with the United States. In the run-up to a June 1 deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on the EU, Berlin is urging its European partners to show some flexibility and pursue a broad trade deal that benefits both sides. But that puts Germany at odds with European peers such as France. Paris, the other half of the motor driving European integration, resents Germany’s big trade...
  • French economy minister Le Maire says Air France 'will disappear' unless crisis stops

    05/06/2018 8:23:52 AM PDT · by Olog-hai · 11 replies
    France 24 ^ | 05/06/2018 | [France 24 with Reuters and AFP]
    France’s economy minister Bruno Le Maire said Sunday that Air France employees must resume dialogue with bosses and restart efforts to improve the company’s competitiveness, otherwise the airline “will disappear”. “I appeal to the sense of responsibility of everyone involved: flight crew, ground staff, the pilots asking for unjustified pay increases,” he said on French TV news channel BFMTV. “Take responsibility — Air France’s survival is at stake.” Le Maire added that “the state is not there to pay off the company’s debts”. …
  • Germany calls for 'permanent exemption' from Trump tariffs

    05/01/2018 9:03:34 AM PDT · by Olog-hai · 19 replies
    TheLocal.de ^ | 1 May 2018 09:48 CEST+02:00
    Germany on Tuesday called for a “permanent exemption” on steel and aluminium tariffs, after the US decided to postpone a decision on the issue. “The German government has taken note” of the decision by US President Donald Trump to hold off on imposing controversial tariffs on steel and aluminium from the EU, Canada and Mexico, a government spokeswoman said. But Germany “is still waiting for a permanent exemption” from the tariffs and wants the European Commission to “continue dialogue with the United States”. Germany’s call came as the European Union accused the United States of prolonging “market uncertainty” with its...
  • German minister: EU should not risk trade war with US over tariffs dispute

    04/30/2018 9:51:16 PM PDT · by Olog-hai · 8 replies
    Deutsche Welle ^ | 04.29.2018 | amp/cmk (dpa, Reuters)
    German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier on Sunday warned the European Union against sparking a trade war with the US in the dispute over US tariffs on steel and aluminum. “I’m of the opinion that neither the US nor the Europeans should risk a trade war,” said Altmaier during a talk show on German public broadcaster ARD. He warned that the trans-Atlantic relationship was at stake. […] Altmaier, who is a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives (CDU/CSU), said the EU should try to solve the tariff dispute, along with other trade disagreements, in a comprehensive US-EU deal. Earlier, the...
  • Germany's tax burden second-highest among rich countries: OECD

    04/26/2018 6:07:20 PM PDT · by Olog-hai · 3 replies
    Deutsche Welle ^ | 04.26.2018 | Alexander Pearson
    Germany has the second-highest tax burden for single earners among high-income countries, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Thursday. The news has come amid a large budget surplus in Germany and no plans under the new coalition government to drastically change personal income taxes. […] In its “Taxing Wages” report, the OECD calculated the “net personal average tax rate” (NPATR) to determine a country’s tax burden. The NPATR equals the sum of personal income tax plus social security contributions minus cash benefits as a percentage of gross earnings. Single earners in Germany who have no children...
  • Merkel flies to US for tough talks with Trump, hoping to prevent trade war

    04/26/2018 3:51:33 PM PDT · by Olog-hai · 34 replies
    AFP via TheLocal.de ^ | 26 April 2018 14:32 CEST+02:00
    German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits US President Donald Trump on Friday for a last-ditch European effort to prevent a transatlantic trade war and save the Iran nuclear deal. Merkel’s working trip is expected to be far more businesslike than this week’s pomp-filled state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has built a warm rapport with Trump despite stark policy differences. Trump’s lavish welcome for Macron, with hugs and much back-slapping, contrasted sharply with a tense White House event in March last year in which Trump appeared to ignore Merkel’s offer of a handshake. Despite Merkel’s more sober style, her...
  • French President: ‘You Don’t Make Trade War with Your Ally’

    04/23/2018 2:55:04 PM PDT · by Olog-hai · 23 replies
    Cybercast News Service ^ | April 23, 2018 | 12:16 PM EDT | Melanie Arter
    French President Emmanuel Macron told “Fox News Sunday” that he hopes President Donald Trump won’t impose new tariffs on aluminum and steel for the European Union, a key U.S. ally. “When the president announced new tariffs on aluminum and steel for the European Union, you said, we will not negotiate with a gun pointed at her head. There is now a May 1st deadline. Who is going to blink, President Trump or you?” Fox News host Chris Wallace asked. “I hope — I mean, he will not implement these new tariffs and he will decide for an exemption for the...
  • EU and Mexico agree new free trade pact

    04/21/2018 5:40:31 PM PDT · by Berlin_Freeper · 17 replies
    Reuters ^ | APRIL 21, 2018 | Philip Blenkinsop
    The European Union and Mexico reached an agreement on Saturday on a new free trade deal, a coup for both parties in the face of increased protectionism from the United States under President Donald Trump. Since its plans for a trade alliance with the United States were frozen after Trump’s election victory, the EU has focused instead on trying to champion open markets and seal accords with other like-minded countries. The agreement in principle with Mexico follows a deal struck last year with Japan and comes ahead of talks next week with the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and...
  • 'Privatization is hell': Protesting French rail workers defend their strikes

    04/19/2018 9:10:28 AM PDT · by Olog-hai · 9 replies
    TheLocal.fr ^ | 19 April 2018 15:53 CEST+02:00 | AFP/The Local
    French rail workers spoke of their anger over the government’s proposed reforms to France’s national rail service as they took part in a day of mass protests on Thursday. President Emmanuel Macron faced mass protests Thursday as trade unionists seek to galvanize striking train drivers, angry students and public sector workers and into a joint movement against his multi-pronged drive to overhaul the French economy. The hard-line CGT union has urged the broad spectrum of groups opposed to Macron’s overhauls to come together on the streets, with some left-wingers dreaming of a re-run of the huge May 1968 demonstrations that...
  • In Paris, Trudeau defends benefits of EU-Canada trade deal

    04/16/2018 9:18:40 AM PDT · by Olog-hai · 5 replies
    Associated Press ^ | Apr 16, 2018 10:51 AM EDT
    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron have discussed a renewed economic partnership to boost growth, jobs and investments in their two countries. […] Trudeau said “we already see the results” of the new trade rules, called the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act (CETA). Canadian imports from France have increased 4 percent last year and Canadian investments in France have jumped 23 percent, he said. …
  • French rail workers are striking 2 days out of 5 for the next 3 months

    04/03/2018 10:35:34 PM PDT · by Berlin_Freeper · 9 replies
    CNN ^ | April 3, 2018 | Judith Vonberg and Saskya Vandoorne
    Rail workers across France have gone on strike for the first day of a three-month rolling walkout, the latest and potentially biggest battle over labor laws in the country since President Emmanuel Macron took office last May promising to transform the jobs market. Train services have been severely disrupted, with around 87% of high-speed trains and 80% of regional services canceled Tuesday, according to SNCF, France's state-owned rail company. Eurostar services were also affected, with one in four services from Paris canceled. High-speed Thalys trains towards Belgium and the Netherlands were operating almost as normal, but there were no services...
  • US 'will fail if it tries to split Europe': Germany

    03/18/2018 9:48:42 AM PDT · by Olog-hai · 104 replies
    TheLocal.de ^ | 18 March 2018 17:11 CET+01:00 | AFP
    US President Donald Trump “will not succeed” in dividing European nations against one another over trade, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier warned on Sunday ahead of a visit to Washington. In the European Union “we are a customs union and act collectively. It cannot be in the interest of the US government to divide Europe, nor will it succeed,” Altmaier told German business daily Handelsblatt. […] “Companies and consumers on both sides would foot the bill if the US and Europe tumble into a trade war,” Altmaier said. Meanwhile, countries like China that stand accused of flooding global markets with...
  • Brexit deadline for firms next week, German industry warns

    03/13/2018 8:22:07 PM PDT · by Olog-hai · 2 replies
    TheLocal.de ^ | 13 March 2018 11:01 CET+01:00 | AFP
    German firms must begin planning for a worst-case “hard Brexit” that would slash trade between Britain and the EU if no deal is reached at an EU summit next week, a powerful industry body said on Tuesday. The Federation of German Industry (BDI) urged British Prime Minister Theresa May and the remaining 27 EU leaders to agree a “status quo” transition period preserving present trade arrangements beyond Britain’s departure date of March 29th 2019. “Otherwise, some companies will be forced to bring their contingency plans into focus for the worst-case scenario, which no one wants, and which will damage everyone,”...
  • France gears up for wave of asset sales in bid to raise funds

    03/12/2018 12:34:26 AM PDT · by Olog-hai · 12 replies
    TheLocal.de ^ | 12 March 2018 08:17 CET+01:00 | AFP
    French President Emmanuel Macron will be putting his investment banking experience to use in coming weeks as his government prepares a new wave of state asset sales to pay for his “disruptive innovations” fund. After his election last year Macron pledged €50 billion ($62 billion) to help modernize the country’s economy, and €10 billion has been earmarked for promoting innovative technologies. To avoid putting further strain on the already stretched public finances, the government will finance the plan by selling stakes in the roughly 80 French companies owned partly or entirely by the state. The process was launched last autumn,...
  • EU’s anti-Trump hit list: Everything including the kitchen sink

    03/10/2018 7:28:47 AM PST · by Olog-hai · 40 replies
    Politico Europe ^ | 3/7/18, 12:46 PM CET | Hans von der Burchard and Jakob Hanke
    The EU is set to hit a wide range of American products — ranging from yachts to peanut butter — with duties of 25 percent to retaliate against President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. The products targeted, as shown in a list obtained by Politico, are chosen so as not to harm EU industries, which do not need these imports. Some targets clearly gun for politically sensitive Republican-run states. […] In agriculture, the EU will go after kidney beans, bourbon whiskey, rice, cranberries, orange juice, peanut butter, tobacco and cheroots. […] In the industrial sector, the...
  • Macron warns Trump all sides would lose in 'trade war'

    03/10/2018 8:16:56 AM PST · by Olog-hai · 33 replies
    TheLocal.fr ^ | 10 March 2018 08:07 CET+01:00 | AFP
    French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday warned his US counterpart Donald Trump against forging ahead with planned tariffs on European steel and aluminium, saying it risked starting a mutually destructive “trade war”. In a telephone call with Trump, the French leader expressed his “deep concerns”, saying the tariffs due to come into effect in two weeks “risk triggering a trade war, in which all affected countries would be losers”, Macron’s office said. He also argued that “such measures against allied countries, who respect international trade rules, would not be effective in fighting unfair practices”, and said the European Union would...
  • Macron warns EU must 'react quickly' to protectionist US policies

    03/05/2018 3:46:41 PM PST · by Olog-hai · 23 replies
    TheLocal.fr ^ | 5 March 2018 14:45 CET+01:00 | AFP
    French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the European Union must “react quickly” to US plans for tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which he said clearly breached global trade rules. “I believe it is important for the EU to react quickly, within the framework of the WTO (World Trade Organization) and in a balanced manner,” Macron said at a press conference. He was it “clear that these (tariffs) would go against WTO rules.” […] “Nationalism is a war where everyone loses,” Macron said at a press conference with the visiting leader of Canadian province Quebec, Philippe Couillard. …