It was just a matter of time before the protectionist tone the new U.S. administration and Congress set started to get the attention of other world powers. The European Union has threatened to retaliate if the U.S. sticks to its guns on “Buying American” with the money provided by the next stimulus package.
That whole “None of the funds appropriated…may be used for a project for the construction…unless all of the iron and steel used in the project is produced in the United States” looks to be in major jeopardy (as it should be). Look for any other language that restricts funding to Union only labor to be removed or altered. That same goes for any language restricting companies that can be recipients of such funds.
A trade are would not benefit any country; U.S. or otherwise.
The American political system is sending a very dangerous message to the rest of the world, a “U.S. only” message that could easily be misconstrued as a sign that we are only concerned about U.S. interests only.
While we live in a global economy, and the United States needs to address U.S. concerns, our politicians need to be highly aware that other economies are hurting as well. While not looking to the U.S. to solve their problems, they are looking for signs that the free market is still alive (maybe not healthy, but alive…)
A trade war would only cause the recession/depression be prolonged and intensified, let’s just hope somone is paying attention.