Strong Reactions to U.S. Trade Actions

“If attacked, we will respond without weakness. Everyone needs to understand this, and I think I can say that the American strategy is a bad strategy. ... We talk about everything, in principle, with a friendly country that respects the rules of the WTO. We talk about nothing, in principle, when it is with a gun to our head." — Emmanuel Macron, France’s president

“Maybe it’s a way to exert strong pressure on the European Union, to start some sort of a negotiation with a revolver to our head. That’s a strange way of negotiating with an ally." — Charles Michel, Belgium’s prime minister, explaining why he still had “doubts” after the European Union was among several U.S. allies granted an exemption to steel and aluminum tariffs.

“China does not want to fight a trade war but is absolutely not afraid of a trade war. We are confident and capable of meeting any challenge and hope that the United States will pause on the brink of a precipice, make careful decisions, and avoid dragging bilateral trade relations to a dangerous place." —a Chinese Commerce Ministry representative

“This European Council will send a strong message on where the European Union stands in relation to trade: No protectionism." — Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief

“Of course the president has announced a temporary exemption for the European Union. We were discussing this morning the need that we want to ensure that does become a permanent exemption for the European Union and I stayed on to be part of that discussion because the steel industry is important to the United Kingdom and I want to ensure that the U.K. steel industry and its workers are safeguarded." —Theresa May, Britain’s prime minister

“The long-term costs of weakening the WTO cancel out the short-term advantages of temporarily preventing a trade war between the EU and the USA. ... The EU should not let itself be drawn into this game." — Gabriel Felbermayr, director of the Ifo Center for International Economics in Munich

“The global trade conflict is still threatening to escalate. And U.S. President Donald Trump will demand a price from the EU for exemption from punitive tariffs." —Thilo Brodtmann, executive director of the German Engineering Federation, an industry group