#BREAKING Trump: TRADE WARS ARE GOOD, AND EASY TO WIN

EUROPE
GER 'rejects' US President Trump's decision to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports: Merkel spokesman
GER urges 'determined' EU response to US steel tariffs
FR Finance Minister @BrunoLeMaire calls US tariffs unilateral and unacceptable, warns that for a response, all options are on the table.
UK:"We are engaging with the US on what this announcement means in practice... We are particularly concerned by any measures that would impact the UK steel and aluminium industries."
>NL was especially vocal, and said it was "very disappointed" that the U.S. has announced trade measures against steel and aluminum against it and said it finds the reasoning behind the announced U.S. measures “invalid.” The Netherlands also said it “fully” supports the European Commission in defending the economic interests of the European Union and the member states

EU
EU COMMISSION SPOKESMAN WINTERSTEIN BRIEFS PRESS IN BRUSSELS EU SAYS HAS COUNTER-MEASURES READY AGAINST U.S. TARIFFS EU SAYS STANDS READY TO RESPOND. EU's President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said: "The Commission will bring forward in the next few days a proposal for countermeasures against the US to rebalance the situation," per the Telegraph.
European Union vowed to “react firmly” with World Trade Organization-compliant countermeasures in the next few days. EU Commission spokesman Winterstein said that the EU already has counter-measures ready against US tariffs and stands ready to respond. Reports in late February in the German press suggested that the European Union is drawing up a list of U.S. products to target — including orange juice and Kentucky bourbon — if Trump proceeds with aluminum and steel import tariffs. For the full European response we must wait until March 5, when EU officials said they would formalize their response to the tariffs.

U.S. industries
U.S. companies from beer brewer MillerCoors to candymaker Hershey Co., which use aluminum for manufacturing and packaging, also warned that operations would be hurt by the tariffs.
>“We buy as much domestic can sheet aluminum as is available, however, there simply isn’t enough supply to satisfy the demands of American beverage makers like us,” MillerCoors said in a tweet. “American workers and American consumers will suffer as a result of this misguided tariff. We are disappointed with President Trump’s announcement of a 10% tariff on aluminum...It is likely to lead to job losses across the beer industry."
 >GM: "We purchase 90% of our steel for U.S. production from U.S. suppliers. We need to better understand the details...but the bottom line is we support trade policies that enable U.S. manufacturers to win and grow jobs in the U.S."
>Aluminum Association: "We appreciate the President's commitment to strengthening the U.S. aluminum industry. We look forward to working with the President on implementation and to create a more level playing field."
>National Small Business Association: "This kind of tariff, while seemingly targeted, could have widespread implications and likely will result in increased prices of many goods."
>The Beer Institute: "[T]his 10% tariff will create a new $347.7 million tax on Americas beverage industry, including brewers and beer importers, and result in the loss of 20,291 American jobs."
>Toyota: "U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel will adversely impact automakers, suppliers, consumers."

U.S. reps
>Sen. Ben Sasse (R): "Protectionism is weak, not strong. You'd expect a policy this bad from a leftist administration, not a supposedly Republican one."
>Sen. Orrin Hatch (R): "Whoever advised him on this ought to be reprimanded. In all honesty, it's not going to help America."
>Sen. Mike Lee (R): "The tariffs proposed by the president this week would be a huge job-killing tax hike on American consumers...there must be a better way to address the steel industries concerns."
>Sen. Bob Casey (D): "I commend @realDonaldTrump for announcing his intent to take action to protect our steelworkers from countries, like China, that cheat on trade...today's announcement of an intention to act next week is a welcome step."
>Rep. Tim Ryan (D): "These actions will protect good-paying jobs in Ohio and across the country. This was long overdue."

Canada's Trade Minister Francois-Phillippe Champagne said they were "unacceptable," and officials have said they will "respond...with their own measures,"

CN will apply regulations of its own "if the tariffs' cost to China exceed $10 billion.
SAYS U.S. RESTRICTION ON STEEL TRADE HURTS TRADE SYSTEM
MAY TAKE MEASURES TO PROTECT OWN INTERESTS: MOFCOM
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying merely said in Beijing Friday that China urges the U.S. to follow trade rules.
>China's Ministry of Commerce added that US restrictions on steel trade hurt the global trade system, and that Chinese steel exports to the US do not "harm US security."
>Chinese industry insiders, however, were far less restrained. The U.S. measures "overturn the international trade order," Wen Xianjun, vice chairman of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, said in a statement. “Other countries, including China, will take relevant retaliatory measures.”
>The vice chairman of China Iron and Steel Association, Li Xinchuang, called the move "a stupid trade protection measure."
Ultimately, the big question is whether, and how, China would retaliate: MOFCOM made it clear that it is considering just that when it cautioned that China "may take measures to protect its own interests."

Nations closer to the US, including strategic American allies, responded with bafflement and dismay seeing their industries threatened. Some also panned the idea that metals imports pose a threat to national security.
>“Steel and aluminum imports from Japan, which is an ally, do not affect U.S. national security at all,” Japan’s Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters in Tokyo Friday. “I would like to convey that to the U.S. when I have an opportunity.”
>Canada, which is the biggest foreign supplier of steel to the U.S. was furious: Ottawa said the US measures were unacceptable.
>Australian Trade Minister Steve Ciobo called the move “disappointing” and said his country is seeking an exemption.