Combative Mood
The law gives Trump flexibility. He could act only against China or other countries as well. The possible targets are already squawking—and planning their responses.
For instance, consider this July 7 Financial Times article:
[European Union] officials have begun assembling a list of US goods including whiskey, orange juice and dairy products to target for retaliation over Donald Trump’s plans to invoke national security concerns to limit steel imports.
European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker told the Financial Times, “Our mood is increasingly combative.”
But why retaliate specifically against whiskey?
Well, Europeans will buy less whiskey if EU officials impose tariffs that double its price. And Kentucky ships a lot of bourbon to Europe.
Besides whiskey, what’s also from Kentucky is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. It’s no accident the EU threatens to strike his state first. With orange juice and dairy also on the list, Florida and Wisconsin politicians won’t be happy either. (House Speaker Paul Ryan is from Wisconsin, by the way).
But even strong opposition from Capitol Hill probably won’t work, because Trump doesn’t need their permission. To stop this trade war, Congress would have to pass new laws and then override Trump’s veto. Not likely.
That means this dispute will expand quickly beyond steel to other industries… and then the United States will retaliate against those measures and expand it yet further.