INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Donald Trump's "America First" agenda clashes with free-trade relations with traditional alliesWashington: The United States launched what
China called the "largest trade war in economic history" between the world's top two economies Friday, imposing tariffs on goods worth
around $34 billion annually.The US-China spat is one of several trade fights picked by the protectionist President Donald Trump as his
"America First" agenda clashes with free-trade relations with traditional allies.The complex web of commercial ties under threat has raised
the prospect of a global trade war, sending financial markets tumbling.Here is a summary of Trump's trade conflicts:ChinaAfter weeks of
apparently fruitless negotiations, the US imposed tariffs on approximately $34 billion of Chinese products, sparking an immediate response
from Beijing, which said it would hit back but did not provide details.The tariffs may just be the first shot in a ballooning war, as Trump
has warned that he could ratchet up the measures to include $450 billion in goods -- the vast majority of all of China's exports to the
United States.Already a second tranche of tariffs on $16 billion in products is under review and could soon be added to the US measures.The
US tariffs target a wide range of Chinese goods-- including aircraft parts and computer hard drives-- that Washington says have benefited
from unfair trade practices.China's retaliatory measures were expected to hit back largely at agricultural products designed to hurt Trump
supporters.European UnionOn June 1, Trump made good on several months of threats and imposed tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports from the
EU, along with 10 percent on aluminium imports.Trump has said the European Union is "possibly almost as bad as China" when it comes to
trade, as a raft of retaliatory tariffs from Brussels came into effect on June 22.From blue jeans to motorbikes and whiskey, the EU's
hit-list of products targeted the most emblematic of American exports.Europe is also worried Washington will follow up on a threat to impose
punitive levies on imported cars, something the powerful German car industry particularly fears.However, signs of a possible thaw emerged on
July 5 when the US ambassador in Berlin told bosses at Germany's biggest car firms that Washington was calling on the EU to bring tariffs to
zero on car imports -- in exchange for equal treatment.Canada and MexicoCanada and Mexico, both members with the US of the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), have not been spared the Washington offensive on steel and aluminium, and are threatening their own
reprisals.Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traded barbs over the steel tariffs at a farcical summit of the G7 richest
countries that ended on June 9.Meanwhile talks among the three NAFTA signatories, launched after Trump demanded an overhaul of the "terrible
deal", have snagged notably owing to US demands to increase American content installed in duty-free autos.JapanJapan is another target of
Trump's steel tariffs, which Tokyo calls "extremely deplorable".It has informed the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it plans to impose
retaliatory measures on US goods to the tune of 50 billion yen (395 million euros, $455 million), after failing to persuade Washington to
exempt it from the tariffs.South KoreaIn March, Washington and Seoul announced an agreement on a renegotiated free trade accord, giving US
carmakers greater access to the South Korean market.Trump argued the original deal from 2012 was lopsided in Seoul's favour, but has also
clouded the issue by appearing to link trade concessions to progress in his separate track of talks with nuclear-armed North
Korea.RussiaRussia, also hit by the US steel tariffs, has informed the WTO that it is planning its own retaliation.Trade relations were
already strained by US sanctions targeting oligarchs and businesses accused of supporting President Vladimir Putin's alleged efforts to
undermine Western democracies.IranTrump announced in May he was abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran -- which will mean new sanctions
on Tehran and punitive measures for those who trade with it.Several companies -- including Total and Peugeot of France, and Russia's Lukoil
-- have said they are preparing to exit Iran before US deadlines, the last of which is November 4.(Except for the headline, this story has
not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
