Trump’s Trade Fight Now a War on Three Fronts

The European Union is preparing for another round of trade talks with the US, but it’s also warning that it may speed up retaliatory measures if President Donald Trump follows through on his latest threat: a 50% levy on steel and aluminum imports. The European Commission, which handles trade matters for the EU, said Monday it “strongly” regrets the tariff hike—up from an originally planned 25%—and said the move is undermining efforts to reach a solution to the trade conflict. The EU’s trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, is to meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Wednesday in Paris and a team from the commission is on its way to Washington to continue technical talks.

The message from Europe comes as Trump faces fresh headwinds on two other fronts of his trade war. After the US and China agreed to lower tariffs from astronomical heights—a temporary deal that largely satisfied Beijing’s demands—tensions are now surging over access to chips and rare earths. And Beijing increasingly appears to have the upper hand. Meanwhile back home, the legality of most of the Republican’s tariffs has been called into question by federal judges for violating not only the law on which they were ostensibly based, but a Supreme Court doctrine that deems such monumental moves the province of Congress.