BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel blasted US import duties on steel and aluminium imports Thursday as "illegal" and said they risked sparking a disastrous "spiral" of retaliatory measures."The German government rejects the tariffs imposed by the US on steel and aluminium. We consider this unilateral measure to be illegal; the cited grounds of national security do not stand up," Merkel´s spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement."The measure risks touching off spirals of escalation that in the end hurt everyone." Merkel said the European Union had made the "necessary preparations for appropriate countermeasures" to the tariffs, after EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker announced steps to hit back "within hours". But Seibert stressed Berlin remained ready to talk to head off a trade war. "The situation remains: the German government will continue to fight for free trade and open markets," he said."We will continue to take a multilateral approach." German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas pledged a united European front against protectionist measures. "Our answer to ´America First´ can only be ´Europe united´," he said in a statement. "Trade wars don´t have any winners."
06-01-2018, 03:18 PM
?Illegal? US tariffs risk ?escalation spiral? in world trade: Merkel
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