President Trump’s promise to hit the United States’ trading partners with tit-for-tat tariffs — including penalties for taxes that he claims the European Union unfairly imposes on American imports — could hardly come at a worse time for the continent. Mr. Trump on Thursday signed a memo directing his teams to prepare by April “reciprocal”…
European leaders vowed on Tuesday to retaliate after President Trump raised tariffs on aluminum and steel to 25 percent, even as they held out hope that they would be able to negotiate a deal with the United States. European Union officials have argued that Europe and the United States are deeply intertwined and that igniting…
President Trump is poised to move forward with sweeping tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum on Monday, re-upping a policy from his first term that pleased domestic metal makers, but hurt other American industries and ignited trade wars with allies on multiple fronts. The 25 percent tariffs that the president said he would impose on…
Europe is prepared to respond “within an hour” if the United States levies tariffs against the European Union, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a pre-election debate with his conservative challenger Friedrich Merz. Asked by a moderator if the EU had a “list of cruelties” with which to respond if the US imposed tariffs, Scholz,…
A chorus of criticism greeted Friedrich Merz, the favorite to become Germany’s chancellor, last month when he broke a taboo against working with a hard-right party to pass legislation. But it was a lone voice of dissent that rocked the country’s political scene: Angela Merkel, the once-beloved former chancellor, who called Mr. Merz’s decision simply…
Until a few days ago, Antonietta Moccia, a 61-year-old housewife, had little hope that the Italian authorities would ever tackle the illegal waste disposal that had long plagued her town and others just north of Naples. Her daughter was diagnosed with a rare cancer at age 5 in an area where clusters of cancers have…
Since taking office, President Trump has threatened European countries’ security and economies, angled to take control of Greenland, and promised to “definitely” slap the nations with tariffs. Even parties that would seem to be his natural allies are nervous. Some have quietly tiptoed back from the American president. But Saturday was not the day for…
The European Union spent last year drawing up secret plans for what the bloc would do if President Trump made good on his threats of imposing higher tariffs on European goods and services. Now, as those threats go from hypothetical to potentially imminent, its plans are coming into broad focus. Hit specific, politically sensitive sectors…
It was a hectic Monday morning for Peter Mandelson, who was packing up his home before heading to Buckingham Palace for an audience with King Charles III, on the eve of becoming Britain’s ambassador to the United States. But the stress of leaving London may not compare to what awaits Mr. Mandelson when he lands…
In May, the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, will meet the six Middle Eastern nations that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council. The summit’s host, Malaysia, has invited China to attend. China is also poised to update its own free-trade agreement with ASEAN, which includes Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam….