U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick praised the U.K. and Mexico for refraining from engaging in tit-for-tat tariff hikes with the U.S., warning that those trading partners that upset U.S. President Donald Trump with their responses to American protectionist steps open themselves to a severe reaction.
“If you make him unhappy, he responds unhappy,” Lutnick said of Trump’s move Thursday to slap a 200% tariff on European Union alcohol products in reaction to the EU’s retaliation against new US steel and aluminum duties.
Trump’s intention is to “break down those walls” preventing American products from coming in, and to build manufacturing capacity in industries crucial to national security, Lutnick said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Countries that understand that motive and are open to working with the US will get different treatment, he said.
“The British didn’t respond, the Mexicans didn’t respond — you have some countries that actually thoughtfully examine how they do business with us,” Lutnick said. For those nations that “go right back to old-school” tit-for-tat measures “the president’s going to deal with them with strength and with power,” he said.
Lutnick also said that Canada’s retaliatory measures against US tariff hikes were done out of domestic political considerations, as the American neighbor heads toward elections.
“You think it’s about a trade war — this is their way of getting election votes,” Lutnick said.
Hadriana Lowenkron and Christopher Anstey, Bloomberg News
